Great Performances (1971)
The best in the performing arts from across America and around the world including a diverse programming portfolio of classical music, opera, popular song, musical theater, dance, drama, and performance documentaries.
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Episode 1 - GRAMMY Salute to Music Legends 2016
Release Date: 2016-10-14In collaboration with The Recording Academy, Great Performances presents “GRAMMY Salute To Music Legends,” a special all-star concert offering a primetime spotlight for The Academy’s 2016 Special Merit Awards recipients. The celebration and tribute concert features rare performances by honorees and never-before-seen renditions by those they’ve inspired.
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Episode 2 - Hamilton's America
Release Date: 2016-10-20A behind-the-scenes look at Lin-Manuel Miranda's Broadway musical Hamilton, coming to Great Performances as part of the 2016 PBS Arts Fall Festival.
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Episode 3 - Gypsy
Release Date: 2016-11-11Jonathan Kent’s award-winning production of the classic musical Gypsy – a record-breaking sellout during its acclaimed London run – comes to THIRTEEN’s Great Performances, Friday, November 11 at 9 p.m. on PBS on the PBS Arts Fall Festival.
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Episode 4 - The Hollow Crown: The Wars of the Roses | Henry VI, Part 1
Release Date: 2016-12-11The Hollow Crown: The Wars of the Roses with an all-star cast including Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Sturridge, Sophie Okonedo, Keeley Hawes, Hugh Bonneville, Judi Dench & Michael Gambon. It airs on three consecutive Sundays beginning December 11 at 9 p.m. and picks up the story with epic film versions of Henry VI (in two parts) and Richard III.
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Episode 5 - The Hollow Crown: The Wars of the Roses | Henry VI, Part 2
Release Date: 2016-12-18Henry IV Part 2 is the second of three parts in The Hollow Crown: The Wars of the Roses. Bitter rivalries erupt into the Wars of the Roses. The feeble King Henry is overshadowed by Queen Margaret and her faction of Lancastrian Lords, his reign further undermined by disaffected nobles supporting the House of York. Battle and bloodshed ensue.
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Episode 6 - Shakespeare Live! From the Royal Shakespeare Company
Release Date: 2016-12-23The star-studded Shakespeare Live! from the Royal Shakespeare Company salutes the Bard across multiple genres. This celebratory event, hosted by David Tennant and Catherine Tate, features Benedict Cumberbatch, Judi Dench, Helen Mirren, Rufus Wainwright, Joseph Fiennes, and many more.
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Episode 7 - The Hollow Crown: The Wars of the Roses | Richard III
Release Date: 2016-12-25Richard III is the third of three parts in The Hollow Crown: The Wars of the Roses. Richard III, the most notorious of Shakespeare’s kings, manipulates his way through the court on a ruthless path to the throne. But after Richard’s defeat at the battle of Bosworth Field, the Houses of Lancaster and York unite, bringing the Wars of the Roses and a tumultuous period of civil strife to an end.
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Episode 8 - From Vienna: The New Year's Celebration 2017
Release Date: 2017-01-01Stage and screen legend Julie Andrews returns for the eighth time to host the festive annual New Year's celebration with the Vienna Philharmonic, under the direction of Gustavo Dudamel, from Vienna's Musikverein. The Vienna Philharmonic and soloists of the Vienna State Ballet return for the beloved annual tradition against the joyful backdrop of the scenic city.
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Episode 9 - Bel Canto the Opera From Lyric Opera of Chicago
Release Date: 2017-01-13Bel Canto the Opera from Lyric Opera of Chicago Comes to Great Performances. Lyric’s creative consultant, soprano Renée Fleming, hosts the opera, which she curated from its inception.
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Episode 10 - Alicia Keys - Landmarks Live in Concert
Release Date: 2017-01-20The series premieres with a native New Yorker from Hell’s Kitchen, Grammy Award-winning artist, Alicia Keys. Her collaboration with Jay Z, “Empire State of Mind,” instantly became the City’s newest anthem. In this debut Landmarks Live special recorded over a one-year period, Alicia’s love affair with New York continues as she performs in notable locations all around the city.
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Episode 11 - Brad Paisley – Landmarks Live in Concert
Release Date: 2017-01-27Country music superstar Brad Paisley returns to his roots in the beautiful Appalachian Mountains for a special outdoor concert at West Virginia University. As the hit-maker behind 23 number one singles and the winner of just about every Country music award imaginable, Brad brings his unique skills as a singer songwriter, guitarist and entertainer back to his home state.
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Episode 12 - Great Performances at the Met: Tristan und Isolde
Release Date: 2017-01-29The Met’s new production of Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde, conducted by Sir Simon Rattle in his first Met performances since his 2010 debut, opens the new season of Great Performances at the Met, Sunday, January 29 at 12 p.m. on PBS (check local listings). Nina Stemme and Stuart Skelton star in The Met’s new production of Tristan und Isolde.
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Episode 13 - New York City Ballet in Paris
Release Date: 2017-02-17New York City Ballet in Paris is the part one of a two-part special featuring four ballets by NYCB co-founder George Balanchine set to the music of French composers. The program opens with Gounod's Walpurgisnacht Ballet and culminates with Ravel's La Valse. Both programs are hosted by NYCB Ballet Master in Chief Peter Martins.
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Episode 14 - Great Performances at the Met: Don Giovanni
Release Date: 2017-02-19Charismatic baritone Simon Keenlyside stars as the title character in Don Giovanni, bringing his acclaimed interpretation of the role to Great Performances at the Met for the first time. Met Principal Conductor Fabio Luisi conducts Tony Award-winner Michael Grandage’s staging of Mozart’s masterpiece.
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Episode 15 - New York City Ballet Symphony in C
Release Date: 2017-02-24New York City Ballet Symphony in C is part two of a two-part special featuring four ballets by NYCB co-founder George Balanchine set to the music of French composers. Symphony in C opens with Ravel's Sonatine. Bizet's Symphony in C is the finale of the two-part special. Both programs are hosted by NYCB Ballet Master in Chief Peter Martins.
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Episode 16 - Dudamel Conducts Tangos Under the Stars
Release Date: 2017-03-30Gustavo Dudamel accents the colors, rhythms, and passion of music by leading composers from Argentina in this invigorating evening under the stars on Dudamel Conducts Tangos Under the Stars with the LA Phil — recorded at the Hollywood Bowl in August.
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Episode 17 - Great Performances at the Met: L'Amour de Loin
Release Date: 2017-04-01Kaija Saariaho’s L’Amour de Loin (“Love From Afar”), one of the most highly praised operas of recent years.
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Episode 18 - Young Men
Release Date: 2017-04-06Young Men, a World War I-inspired feature-length dance film commemorating the Great War’s centennial. Young Men was filmed on location in Northern France with the BalletBoyz dance company.
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Episode 19 - Great Performances at The Met: Romeo et Juliette
Release Date: 2017-04-13Diana Damrau and Vittorio Grigolo star as the tragic lovers in Shakespeare’s classic story. Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette.
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Episode 20 - Great Performances at the Met: Nabucco
Release Date: 2017-05-07The legendary Plácido Domingo brings another new baritone role to the Met as the title king in Nabucco, under the baton of his longtime collaborator James Levine.
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Episode 21 - Great Performances at the Met: Rusalka
Release Date: 2017-06-18Kristine Opolais stars in her first Met performance as the title character in Antonin Dvořák's Rusalka. The critically acclaimed new staging, directed by Mary Zimmerman and conducted by Mark Elder.
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Episode 22 - Andrea Bocelli – Landmarks Live in Concert
Release Date: 2017-06-30Andrea Bocelli – Landmarks Live in Concert continues the new Landmarks arts strand. Each Landmarks Live in Concert special features an artist or band performing at a legendary destination of personal significance. The series is hosted by Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, who conducts one-on-one interviews with the artists.
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Episode 23 - Great Performances at the Met: Idomeneo
Release Date: 2017-07-16Music Director Emeritus James Levine conducts an extraordinary ensemble in Idomeneo, Mozart’s early masterpiece of love and vengeance following the Trojan War.
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Episode 24 - Great Performances at The Met: Eugene Onegin
Release Date: 2017-08-13Anna Netrebko stars as Tatiana, the naïve heroine of Tchaikovsky’s opera, with Peter Mattei as the title character who rejects her. Alexey Dolgov is Onegin’s friend-turned-rival, Lenski, with Elena Maximova as Tatiana’s sister, Olga, and Štefan Kocán as Prince Gremin. Robin Ticciati conducts.
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Episode 25 - Vienna Philharmonic Summer Night Concert 2017
Release Date: 2017-08-18The world-renowned Vienna Philharmonic returns for its 14th open-air concert, in Austria’s Imperial Schönbrunn Palace Gardens. Christoph Eschenbach conducts a varied program of works from “Sleeping Beauty” to “Hansel and Gretel” to “Harry Potter.”
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Episode 26 - Great Performances at the Met: La Traviata
Release Date: 2017-08-25Sonya Yoncheva reprises her widely praised interpretation of the heroine Violetta Valéry in Verdi’s La Traviata, on Great Performances at the Met. Michael Fabiano is her lover, Alfredo, Thomas Hampson, in one of his most acclaimed Met roles, returns as Alfredo’s protective father, Giorgio Germont. San Francisco Opera Music Director Nicola Luisotti conducts.
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Episode 27 - Great Performances at the Met: Der Rosenkavalier
Release Date: 2017-09-03Renée Fleming performs one of her greatest signature roles, The Marschallin, in Der Rosenkavalier on the season finale of Great Performances at the Met. Elīna Garanča plays Octavian, the impulsive young title character. The opera was conducted by Sebastian Weigle and directed by Robert Carsen.