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3 weeks ago | 
nytimes.com | Javier Hernandez |Javier C. Hernández
The Kennedy Center disputed the relevance of the data, part of an analysis by employees, saying that it had started its annual subscription campaign later than usual. Ticket sales and subscription revenue at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts have fallen sharply since President Trump made himself chairman in February, according to data compiled by employees that was obtained by The New York Times.
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1 month ago | 
nytimes.com | Michael Paulson |Javier Hernandez |Javier C. Hernández
Some big shows and troupes will perform, while others will stay away. And in a shift, the center will present some Broadway shows with nonunion casts. As the Kennedy Center reinvents itself for the Donald J. Trump era, it announced on Monday that its next season would feature some big names in theater and dance, but also some conspicuous absences. And, in a break with the past, the center said it would present several touring Broadway shows with nonunion casts.
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1 month ago | 
nytimes.com | Javier Hernandez |Javier C. Hernández
The center in Manhattan aims to attract new audiences, as it takes down a wall on Amsterdam Avenue and revamps Damrosch Park. Lincoln Center in Manhattan detailed plans on Monday for a $335 million makeover of its west edge, a landmark project that it hopes will bring in new audiences and help define the center's modern legacy.
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1 month ago | 
flipboard.com | Javier Hernandez |Javier C. Hernández
13 hours agoThere’s nothing like ending a day full of doomsday anxiety spiralling by popping on a feel-good movie. In a time when every media channel seems to produce an endless stream of nail-biting and forehead-slapping news, films that provide an escape from reality are in high demand. Whether you want to …
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1 month ago | 
nytimes.com | Javier Hernandez |Javier C. Hernández
Following the president's overhaul of the center, Mr. Flynn, the former national security adviser, has made a substantial gift to the National Symphony Orchestra. The list of donors to the National Symphony Orchestra, one of the Kennedy Center's flagship ensembles, is usually filled with financiers, socialites, corporations and foundations. But the name of a sponsor of this week's performances of Beethoven's "Missa Solemnis" stood out. It was Michael T.
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1 month ago | 
nytimes.com | Javier Hernandez |Javier C. Hernández
Myung-whun Chung will be the first Asian, and one of the first conductors born outside Italy, to serve as music director in the opera house's 247-year history. The Teatro alla Scala in Milan, one of the world's most revered opera houses, announced on Monday that its next music director would be the South Korean conductor Myung-whun Chung. Chung, 72, a veteran who has led renowned ensembles in Europe and Asia, will succeed the Italian maestro Riccardo Chailly, who started in 2015.
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1 month ago | 
nytimes.com | Javier Hernandez |Javier C. Hernández
A House committee proposed a huge increase in federal funding to repair and restore the center, which President Trump took over in February. Democrats have questions. Since leading a stunning takeover of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts at the start of his second term, President Trump has repeatedly lamented the building's condition. He has described the center, which opened in 1971, as in " tremendous disrepair," and has spoken about the need for a major renovation.
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1 month ago | 
nytimes.com | Javier Hernandez |Javier C. Hernández
The soprano Patricia Racette has performed on some of the world's biggest stages, but she has long felt a special connection to Opera Theater of St. Louis, where she made her debut in 1993. Now Racette, 59, will deepen her ties to St. Louis: She will lead Opera Theater as its next artistic director, the company announced on Tuesday.
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2 months ago | 
nytimes.com | Javier Hernandez |Javier C. Hernández
The pianist Martha Argerich had just delivered an electrifying performance on a snowy night in northern Switzerland. Fans were lining up backstage for autographs, and friends were bringing roses and chrysanthemums to her dressing room. But Argerich, who at 83 is still one of the world's most astonishing pianists, with enough finger strength to shatter chestnuts or make a Steinway quiver, was nowhere to be seen. She had slipped out a door to smoke a Gauloises cigarette.
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Mar 27, 2025 | 
nytimes.com | Javier Hernandez |Javier C. Hernández
The center's opera company and orchestra are planning typical seasons. But one opera was withdrawn from the lineup by its creative team, which objected to the president's takeover. The Kennedy Center's flagship opera company and symphony orchestra announced Thursday that they plan to present robust and fairly typical programs next season, the first full season since President Trump took over the institution.
