Shadow Notes are our Shadow Program Notes for Select Kennedy Center Productions, where we provide our spin on the performances at the Kennedy Center.
In a nutshell:
As they prepare for their marriage, Suzanna sings about avoiding the advances of her mistress’s husband- the count, while Figaro measures space for their wedding bed. Figaro and Suzanna, two servants, want to enjoy their wedding night undisturbed by their lord. Count Almaviva attempts to exert his will over Susanna before her marriage. After all, “when you are famous/an aristocrat, they let you.”
But, in Mozart’s telling, the servants are more intelligent than the arrogance and foolishness of the noblemen. Common sense trumps wealth and power. Let that be a lesson for us all!
The Countess, Figaro, and Suzanna plot to humiliate the Count for his philandering. Amid anonymous letters planning a rendezvous in the garden, cross-dressing disguises (no wonder they banned drag queens at the Kennedy Center), mistaken identities, and near misses, the trio and Cherubino trick the Count into begging the Countess for forgiveness. In the end, the servants outwit the Count and portray ordinary people and women as wiser, shrewder, and more civilized than noblemen.
Mozart further critiques noble elites in Don Giovanni, where a libertine nobleman is portrayed as a villain who abuses his power and privilege. (Sound familiar?) Don’t worry- he eventually gets divine retribution. Both operas offer Mozart’s moral critique of aristocratic excess and lack of accountability. Accountability NOW, Ric Grenell!
Mozart’s Critique of the Aristocracy
Mozart’s creative output was financially possible due to the patronage of elite aristocrats- the Archbishop of Salzburg and the Emperor of Austria, the oligarchs of the 18th century. Though Mozart’s bread was often buttered by, and he partied with, many in elite society, his operas were frequently a critique of the social order he participated in. Today, he would likely be making music and operas critical of oligarchs and lampooning the country’s clownish leaders in one of his opera buffas. (comedic opera). Would he be banned from Trump’s stage at the Kennedy Center?
Mozart’s life as a composer constantly butted up against an aristocracy that looked down on musicians as servants and pawns in their toolbox of imperial feudalism. Mozart’s private letters and operas continually put on stage his ideas on the absurdity of oligarchy and the beauty of music and art, which can make fun of those who think their shit don’t stink. Through his choral quartets and arias, Mozart demonstrates that voices singing together produce music that resonates more than the cacophony of multiple people talking at the same time. Likewise, voices in protest are more resonant than those silenced under boycotts.
In The Marriage of Figaro, Mozart, in collaboration with librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte, created a work that critiqued aristocratic privilege and the arbitrary rules of feudalism. This was a bold move; at first, the emperor had banned the play from his court. But Mozart, ever the subversive imp, found a stage for his artistic voice to resonate. Mozart dared to stage this opera on the emperor’s own stage!
American Oligarchy and Buffoonish Leaders
So, what does Mozart’s lampoon of aristocracy mean in American history, particularly in a time period when the US republic is witnessing a partisan oligarchy take over democratic institutions, such as the Kennedy Center?
First, look at our republic’s founding. Much of the money that the author of the original play, Marriage of Figaro, Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais, made from his play, he invested in the American Revolution. Part of the reason we enjoy our independent country today is thanks to the success that Figaro had in criticizing the European aristocracy. How fitting that now, as our nation faces similar threats to independence from oligarchs, we turn to Mozart.
Look no further than the walls around you- The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. It began as a national performing arts center and quickly evolved into a presidential memorial to John F. Kennedy. Over its 54-year history, the Kennedy Center has fostered artistic excellence, built communities, and expanded audiences to reach diverse populations. The Kennedy Center has strived to expand its walls to ensure that all Americans can see themselves on its stages.
All of this is at risk under the Kennedy Center’s partisan takeover. Throughout its 54-year history, the Kennedy Center’s leadership, operations, and artistic programming have been non-partisan, focusing on the arts for all Americans. The Kennedy Center was established to foster and stage America’s arts with diverse voices, critiques of modern society, and arts that push us to question our human existence and the role that the arts play in our democracy.
The Kennedy Center’s Legacy is at Risk
On February 12, 2025, Donald Trump drove a stake through the Kennedy Center’s non-partisan heart and appointed himself and partisan loyalists to use the Center in the administration’s toolbox for shaping the nation’s art scene for political gain.
The Kennedy Center’s doors used to be open for all. Now, there are fears that the new leadership’s rhetoric makes artists of color and those from the LGBT community feel unwelcome. Additionally, Kennedy Center leadership has dismantled the Social Impact Program, which worked hard to expand the Kennedy Center’s stages to the community and to ensure that diverse voices were heard and inclusive audiences walked through the doors.
Additionally, leadership has engaged in union busting by firing all of its dance program staff in retaliation for their support of union efforts by arts administration staff at the center. Doesn’t take much to see why ticket sales have fallen off a cliff.
The once-open doors are at risk of slamming shut. Statements by Ric Grenell saying that there will be no “more drag queens” and “Woke is over at the Kennedy Center” further erode the Center’s inclusive brand. This represents a direct assault on the arts, diversity, and inclusion, as well as the values once held dear at the Kennedy Center.
So far, the programming at the Kennedy Center has retained independence despite changes at the top. In fact, ticket sales and donations designated to the National Symphony and Washington National Opera continue to directly support the independent musicians and programming of the NSO and WNO.
Yet, in light of the eroding brand at the Kennedy Center, many patrons have called for boycotts and abandoned the Kennedy Center, depriving it of much-needed donations and ticket revenue. Indeed, under Grenell’s leadership, the Kennedy Center has experienced staggering fundraising shortfalls, and ticket revenue has plummeted compared to previous years. So much for Making the Kennedy Center Great Again!
We have news for Trump, Grenell, and KC Board Members. Unlike the emperor of Austria, the Kennedy Center is not your stage. The Kennedy Center belongs to all Americans.
WE ARE THE AUDIENCE, PATRONS, DONORS, AND SUPPORTERS OF THE KENNEDY CENTER!
Just as Mozart relied on the emperor’s patronage, our artistic institutions of the Kennedy Center, Washington National Opera, and the National Symphony depend on YOU! Your butts in seats provide ticket revenue, which ensures musicians, artists, and dancers can continue making music, making you laugh, and making you cry. The arts rely on your VOICES in protest.
We, as supporters of the arts in our nation and our nation’s capital, believe our voices in protest are more resonant than a boycott. We put our butts in seats and wear PURPLE to show our support for the musicians, artists, and employees of the Kennedy Center, while protesting the current leadership’s misdirection.
PACK THE HOUSE PURPLE!
We wear PURPLE to show our support for all those artists, musicians, and employees who daily fill the Kennedy Center with reverberations, movement, and echoes of human artistic expression. Without them, the Kennedy Center would merely be a mid-century modern box on the Potomac.
VOICES in Protest are More Resonant than a Boycott
Join us in our chorus of protest as we stand/sit in support of artists, musicians, dancers, actors, stagehands, technicians, and arts administrators who strive daily to ensure diverse voices resonate from our stages.
TAKE ACTION:
1) Add your name to our sign-on letter to the Kennedy Center President and Board members, pushing to save the legacy of the Kennedy Center by calling for accountability on ticket revenue, commitment to the core institutions of the Kennedy Center- National Symphony and Washington National Opera, non-partisan direction at the center, and commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
2) Support Kennedy Center Unions who represent the musicians, dancers, stagehands, makeup artists, costume designers, set builders, and arts administrators. They are the people who make the Kennedy Center what it is.
3) Since a hostile takeover of the Kennedy Center in February 2025, dozens of Kennedy Center workers – highly skilled, professional arts workers – have been terminated without cause. Additionally, staff who refused to sign an NDA were denied severance pay.
In support of our colleagues, the Kennedy Center United Arts Workers (KCUAW) has launched a public fundraising campaign to provide financial relief to Kennedy Center workers who were wrongfully terminated, offering $500 direct aid grants.
Your donation will directly help cover basic needs (food, rent, healthcare, transportation, etc.) and ease the financial burden many are facing as they transition to new opportunities.
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