Opera diva Renée Fleming has pulled the plug on two scheduled May appearances at the Kennedy Center.
The five-time Grammy Award-winning soprano, who resigned last year as an artistic advisor for the Washington, D.C. cultural institution, was set to join conductor James Gaffigan and the National Symphony Orchestra at its home venue on May 29 and 30.
Kennedy Center organizers reportedly referred to Fleming’s cancellation as “a scheduling conflict” and announced on its website this week that “a new soloist and repertoire will be announced at a later date, and the remainder of the program remains unchanged.”
The performance of “Renée Fleming’s Voice of Nature: The Anthropocene,” a curated concert fusing songs such as Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” and Björk’s “All Is Full of Love,” explores the human-nature relationship with National Geographic visuals in the backdrop. As of Friday, “Gaffigan Conducts Appalachian Spring” had been listed as the show’s replacement.
Fleming did not offer comment about her decision to cancel the concert. However, it may have been expected considering her previous public defection from her position as artistic advisor amid President Trump’s takeover of the Kennedy Center.
“I’ve treasured the bipartisan support for this institution as a beacon of America at our best,” she said in a statement at the time while praising the Kennedy Center’s ousted chairman David M. Rubinstein and its longtime president, Deborah F. Rutter.
“I hope the Kennedy Center continues to flourish and serve the passionate and diverse audience in our nation’s capital and across the country,” she added.
AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta
Kennedy Center Honoree Renee Fleming, center, attends the Kennedy Center Honors on Dec. 3, 2023. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
Since last year, numerous performers have opted out of performing at the Kennedy Center since Trump announced his plan to combat what he called “woke” programming and promised to get rid of anyone who does not share his “Vision for a Golden Age in Arts and Culture.”
In December, the new Board of Trustees of the Kennedy Center, filled with the president’s allies, voted to rename the facility The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.
