Nick Bloom

masterpieces from the inherited repertoire, but having a real dedication to supporting American opera.

It is a fine, distinguished national and international company.

The Washington National Opera is in an agreement with the Kennedy Center that allows them to use the facility and to benefit from other shared services.

The new Kennedy Center administration issued some policies about how budgets in the future had to be formulated.

And those policies were just unsustainable in terms of producing opera.

The majority of income of any opera company in the United States comes from contributions.

from individual donors, corporate sponsorships, foundations, and some government grants.

And in fact, at most opera companies and most nonprofit performing arts organizations, individual contributions exceed box office income.

The Kennedy Center said, we want you to go forward with budgets that are based on ticket sales plus corporate sponsorships, and all of that confirmed in advance.

But the fact is that it is in the course of every year that individual contributions build what's called the annual fund and that the annual fund helps pay for productions midstream in the middle of the season through the entire year.

So the idea that all of the revenue would have to be confirmed in advance and primarily from ticket sales and corporate sponsorships, that's just impossible.

The mood in the art scene in Washington is a somber one.

The Kennedy Center was, as you can imagine, kind of the ultimate showplace for the arts.

And there certainly are plenty of other venues in Washington, D.C., and wonderful smaller arts organizations.

But in terms of the public perception of the pinnacle of the arts, it was the Kennedy Center.

It is tremendously disappointing that this ultimate arts venue somehow has changed its mission and a place where people no longer feel particularly welcome.

35 years.

You know, I had planned my retirement before this all occurred.

And it is with great regret that I see the

Challenges to the arts economically across the country, although box office numbers are up this year over last year and contributions are holding on, costs are escalating even faster.