Updated, 9/16:The Kennedy Center has announced details on its first in-person performances in more than six months.

On Sept. 26, an “invited audience” of 40 people will watch a performance from singers Renee Fleming and Vanessa Williams. The inaugural concert explores resilience and “the healing power of performing arts” through song, according to an announcement from the Kennedy Center.

The performers will stand on “a 30 x 24-foot stage extension built over the orchestra-level seating area,” the announcement says. Audience members will enter through the loading doors on the Kennedy Center’s front plaza and sit in “physically distanced pairs” on the stage facing the performers.

There will be a variety of other safety protocols in place, such as frequent cleaning of high-touch surfaces and face mask requirements. The Kennedy Center will also implement mobile tickets and encourage prepaid parking to reduce “contact points.”

The event will also be livestreamed as well, with streaming tickets available for $15.

Tickets are available for future in-person concert. Dates stretch throughout the month of October.

• October 2: Musicians of the National Symphony Orchestra
• October 8: Jazz Gallery All-Stars
• October 20: the Dover Quartet and the Escher Quartet
• October 30: Musicians of the National Symphony Orchestra

The Kennedy Center says it will announce additional performers and dates in the future.

Some performance spaces are slowly returning in the D.C. region after months of coronavirus shutdowns. GALA Hispanic Theater in Columbia Heights announced it plans to reopen at the end of October.

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The Kennedy Center will resume hosting in-person, indoor concerts when D.C. enters its next phase of reopening. Concerts have been canceled since the coronavirus pandemic hit the Washington region in March.

The performing arts center’s Opera House will be transformed into a COVID-era performance space, with patrons seated on stage. Artists will perform from a new stage extension “built into the front of the Orchestra-seating level of the hall,” according to the Kennedy Center’s announcement. Patrons will be seated in “physically distant pairs,” looking out at the performers. Audiences will be capped at 200.

These indoor events won’t begin until the D.C. government enters Phase Three of reopening. When that happens, the Kennedy Center will start rolling out the hour-long, no-intermission concerts about once a week.

The lineup currently includes musicians from the National Symphony Orchestra, the Takács Quartet, the Dover Quartet and the Escher Quartet. The Kennedy Center says it will announce jazz, hip hop, comedy and Broadway performances later.

Like many other indoor music venues, the Kennedy Center has struggled mightily during the pandemic. It has canceled most of its programming through the end of the year, including a highly anticipated summer run of the Broadway musical Hamilton. As a result of the postponements and cancellations, the organization said it expects to lose more than $45 million in ticket sales and other income.

But unlike the city’s smaller venues, the Kennedy Center received $25 million in coronavirus relief funding from the federal government. Its subsequent decision to furlough 60 percent of its administrative staff, in addition to the 725 hourly and part-time employees who were already laid off, drew criticism from musicians and local arts activists. (In April, the organization reversed its decision to furlough members of the National Symphony Orchestra, though the musicians did accept 35% pay cuts.)

Some local music venues have found ways to host performances in outdoor spaces. Classical Movements, an orchestra touring company, holds regular recitals in the garden of its Old Town Alexandria headquarters. Jammin’ Java in Vienna holds concerts in the parking lot.

The owner of Songbyrd in Adams Morgan bought a used pickup truck to use for mobile concerts around the District. Similarly, the Kennedy Center’s Washington National Opera plans to start touring around D.C in a new “pop-up opera truck.”

“The last four months have proven that the arts and our artists are crucial to our lives and mental health,” says Kennedy Center president Deborah Rutter. “We have done the hard work to get this right.”