Kennedy Center thoughts from Grammy-winning librettist Mark Campbell
Photo by Scott Suchman. Watch Washington National Opera’s sizzle reel for The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs here.
(Santa Fe, NM) - I met librettist Mark Campbell in 2015, while he and composer Mason Bates were finalizing their Grammy-winning opera The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs. I also had the honor of being at its Santa Fe Opera world premiere in 2017. During the pandemic, Mark even wrote a piece for OI. But with the arrival of a new regime in Washington, and the hostile takeover of the Kennedy Center by Trump, a political lapdog, and a new board of loyalist supporters, I wanted to know how Mark felt about Washington National Opera’s production of Jobs, which closed two weeks ago.
In full transparency, we read conductor Lidiya Yankovskaya’s 07MAY OpEd in the Washington Post, which described why she felt it was important to “continue to support the art that we want to see on the Kennedy Center stage for as long as we can.” Personally, I have several issues with Yankovskaya’s position, but Mark’s reflections were what I really wanted, as a friend and someone I deeply respect. I texted to see if Mark would be open to sharing his thoughts, and in his usual, generous way, he agreed to answer my emailed questions, as below.
OI: Washington National Opera continues to call the Kennedy Center home. But the Fellow Travelers creative team withdrew their work from the 2024/5 season, citing administration policies, even with WNO's unwavering support. Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton also cancelled, and members of next month's Les Miserables cast will boycott a high-dollar fundraiser featuring President Trump. After a week of performances, The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs closes this weekend, conducted by Lidiya Yankovskaya. What is your take on the aforementioned KC productions, as well as WNO's production of your own groundbreaking, Grammy-winning work?
MC: I applaud the decisions of these artists to withdraw their work from the Kennedy Center (KC)—an institution now headed by an administration that's destroying human rights in our country. I know the creators of Fellow Travelers and its stage director, as well as many people from Washington National Opera (WNO), and can tell you that both sides agonized over the decision. Some may argue that boycotting an organization is pointless and does a disservice to art. I disagree. This decision was picked up in the press and focused another spotlight on our current government's mission to erode LGBTQ+ rights. The point was made. Similarly, when the Metropolitan Opera decided not to cast singers who endorsed the dictatorial ideology of Putin, the point was made.
But it's also important to distinguish the current board of the KC from WNO. I've had a long association with WNO and greatly admire its leadership and the work they produce. Three of my operas received beautiful productions there—and I was a founding mentor of the organization’s crucial American Opera Initiative. In the case of The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs, the production was too far along to withdraw it. The "coup" at the KC occurred in February. All the contracts for this production had been signed and my colleagues—including many friends—would've lost work.
Also, there's nothing in The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs that the new KC board might take exception to. While this disastrous presidency is actively removing equal rights for gay people, the creators of Fellow Travelers might understandably feel hypocritical to see their work performed by an organization now run by them. If the KC approached me to produce As One, the opera about a transgender person I wrote with Laura Kaminsky and Kimberly Reed, or Stonewall, the opera I wrote with Iain Bell, I would vote to withhold the organization from producing them. How do I know that they wouldn't try to censor the works? Tell me how I'm allowed to talk about trans rights? And how could I, as a perhaps overly out gay man, take a bow on that stage after a performance and feel good about it?
President Donald Trump attends a board meeting at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, Monday, March 17, 2025. (Pool via Associated Press)
OI: Mainstream media pieces suggest ongoing tension between keeping KC's artistic space occupied and varied for as long as possible versus cancellations, boycotts, and rebranding the venue as dead on the vine. The final, reflective scene of "Cabaret" (1972) plays in my head when I imagine being an artist on that stage, especially as KC's leadership team becomes increasingly, unabashedly political, in spite of protestations that it is not. Your thoughts?
MC: I can't speak to the environment within the organization—and again, I think it's important to distinguish WNO, which is a great opera company, from the KC. But you only need to look at what this administration has done to the NEA to understand its disregard for the arts.
“To paraphrase Mary McCarthy, ‘Everything this presidency says is a lie, including ‘and’ and ‘the.’’ I am hoping that the KC will be able to hold on for the next four years.”
OI: This month, KC leadership "gutted" its government relations, social media and social impact teams, as well as fired its vice president of marketing, vice president of government relations and protocol, and director of campus planning. Its ongoing rewiring, similar to what DOGE is doing across the U.S. government, suggests that KC's brand values, brand proposition, and mission have been retooled to serve a greater anti-DEI propaganda machine, also replacing a renowned leader with a combative political operative with no arts administration experience. Is this Kennedy Center still the Kennedy Center?
MC: To paraphrase Mary McCarthy, "Everything this presidency says is a lie, including 'and' and 'the.'" I am hoping that the KC will be able to hold on for the next four years. And when we finally boot this clown show out, and this country finally sees what a mean farce it is, the organization will regain its prominence as a leading performance space in the world and once again help nurture the terrific and important work at WNO.
Cartoon by Jack Ohman for Tribune Content Agency, February 12, 2025.
Final Thoughts
I sincerely appreciate and thank Mark for making the distinction between the respective KC and WNO boards (and orgs), what each is doing and motivated by in the current moment. I have long supported the work of Francesca Zambello and her companies, so lumping all KC-based players together in a baby-with-bath-water fashion would be wrong. Having said that, the petty real housewife in me wants to see KC as boarded up, empty, and neglected as one of Trump’s bankrupt Atlantic City casinos, but this isn’t the way (more on that in a moment).
As KC employees push back against a hostile administration, attempting unionization, and forced out leaders and board members strongly (and rightfully) refute accusations of financial impropriety by 47 himself, it’s important to note WNO’s recent boss moves.
On May 2nd, The Chinese Embassy, in partnership with WNO, co-hosted an “Opera Gala 2025.” From the Chinese Embassy website:
“Ambassador Xie said that Chinese and American operas are remarkable in their own ways. They all reveal a shared longing for truth, beauty and a better life. Each has its own beauty, and together they shine even more brightly. In China, cultural industry is booming. The vibrant domestic demand is to generate broad opportunities: as Chinese culture goes global, inbound tourism is surging.”
It seems that China could be building a soft power connection for itself, one that could possibly benefit audiences in both the US and China. WNO appears to be considering its future, too. This partnership, if explored, could potentially ensure future productions in both countries, as well as insulate WNO from decisions by the National Endowment for the Arts and/or KC leadership. The reverse-Nixon of it all is delicious, so watch this space.
Mark’s hope that KC “will regain its prominence as a leading performance space in the world and once again help nurture the terrific and important work at WNO” is something we should all want (ultimately, I do). Even as KC retools as a platform for the regime, I’m thrilled that WNO’s production of Porgy and Bess opens on 23MAY, followed by Aida and Marian Anderson Vocal Award Winner Nicholas Newton this fall. These bright lights encourage me to support the company not only with this blog but a new monthly donation, specifically for WNO.
The bottom line: WNO is on the front lines, maintaining the artistic freedom and physical storytelling space it creates for opera in the nation’s capital. This American will do everything he can to support the WNO organization and their critically important work.
JBM for OI