Just in: Kennedy Center plans January reopening, but no opera

Just in: Kennedy Center plans January reopening, but no opera

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norman lebrecht

July 23, 2020

According to the press release, just landed, ‘contingent on entry into phase four of the District of Columbia’s ReOpen D.C. guidelines’, the National Symphony Orchestra will resume its season on January 16, 2021 with BBC conductor Dalia Staseva. Details here.

The opera will not reopen until May.

No details have been given on distancing protocols, which may well change as the year wears on.

 

Comments

  • JoshW says:

    The US is in a complete Covid crisis meltdown and the NSO decides it’s a good idea to make this announcement right now? How pointless. Likely a desperate attempt to leverage some donations.

    • get real says:

      All orchestras, opera companies, and presenters are in the process of announcing fall plans. This is no different. Their patrons, like everyone else’s, have been waiting for new, any news, even if it’s likely to change in January. Cynical comment.

      • JoshW says:

        ??? Almost everyone is announcing cancellations! Cynical? More like realistic. You are aware that it’s almost August, right?

    • IdiotsEverywhere says:

      @JoshW — Are you living with your head in the sand? Every major arts organization in the US is announcing their plans for the 20-21 season. Go crawl back under your bridge, you troll.

      • JoshW says:

        What ARE you talking about?? Almost everyone is cancelling the rest of the year. Please inform me who (in the US) has plans for 2020?? And just because you disagree doesn’t mean you have to be so ugly.

    • DC Music Lover says:

      What happened to the $25 MILLION the Kennedy Center got back in late March, from the US Govt…? hope someone can find out what Deborah Rutter did with it… supposed to be for employee salaries, at least in part…

      • Andy Dufresne says:

        The $25 MILLION?

        Probably in a sack of unmarked bills…or rolls of quarters.

        Stashed.

        Where?

        Probably here:

        There’s a big hayfield up near Buxton. One in particular. it’s got a long rock wall with a big oak tree at the north end. It’s like something out of a Robert Frost poem…
        If you ever get out…find that spot. At the base of that wall, you’ll find a rock that has no earthly business in a Maine hayfield. Piece of black, volcanic glass. There is something buried there that I want you to have…

        See you on the beach.

  • Monsoon says:

    Reopening in January is a farce. It seems highly doubtful that vaccine injections will have begun then. At the same time, infection rates are likely to spike because so many people are coughing and sneezing due to seasonal colds — we could be back in lockdown.

  • Will the KC continue to pay the Opera House Orchestra as they have been and continue their health insurance? It is extremely important that this wonderful orchestra be kept afloat through these most difficult times.

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