Great Performances — Season 47

Aired 20 September 2019 • 54 min

Join Scott Yoo, renowned violinist and conductor of the Mexico City Philharmonic, in Now Hear This, a new four-part documentary miniseries presented by Great Performances that merges music, storytelling, travel and culture, as he chases the secret histories of some of the greatest music ever written.

Aired 27 September 2019 • 54 min

Scott Yoo goes to Germany to learn Bach’s sonatas and partitas, widely considered among the greatest works ever written for solo violin. There, Yoo discovers a riddle Bach left behind in his portrait. In trying to solve it, Yoo and his wife, leading flutist Alice Dade, discover that Bach based his melodic style on Vivaldi and his rhythms on the music of the French court.

Aired 4 October 2019 • 54 min

Join Scott Yoo in Spain and Morocco to discover the greatest composer you’ve never heard of: Domenico Scarlatti. He was the finest keyboard player in Europe, hired by the Queen of Spain as her personal instructor. Into Vivaldi’s melodies and Bach’s fugues, Scarlatti incorporated the sounds of Spain – Moorish, Jewish, Gypsy, folk, dance and guitar – to create a new musical language.

Aired 11 October 2019 • 54 min

Before becoming the most famous composer of his time, Handel gained a lifetime of experience in Italy. Welcomed by wealthy patrons, he traveled with the Scarlatti family and learned from Corelli and the masters of the Italian Style. Yoo returns to Italy to follow in Handel’s footsteps, taking in the art, architecture, fashion, food, wine, light and landscape.

Aired 18 October 2019

In collaboration with the Recording Academy™, Great Performances presents GRAMMY Salute To Music Legends®, the fourth annual all-star concert offering a primetime spotlight for the Recording Academy’s 2019 Special Merit Awards recipients.

Aired 1 November 2019 • 150 min

The 1981 Tony Award winner for Best Musical, 42nd Street is the song-and-dance, American dream fable of Broadway, featuring the iconic songs “42nd Street,” “We’re In the Money,” “Lullaby of Broadway,” “Shuffle Off To Buffalo,” “I Only Have Eyes For You” and many more.

Aired 8 November 2019

Kelli O’Hara and Ken Watanabe star in a Tony Award-winning revival of the beloved musical about a British schoolteacher instructing the royal children of the King of Siam, featuring classic songs including “Shall We Dance?" and “Hello, Young Lovers.”

Aired 15 November 2019

Under the watchful gaze of his young assistant—and the growing competitive presence of a new generation of artists—Rothko takes on his greatest career challenge yet: to create a definitive series of paintings for the Philip Johnson-designed Four Seasons restaurant in architect Mies van der Rohe’s iconic Seagram Building.

Aired 22 November 2019

For the first time in over four decades, Great Performances presents a Public Theater production recorded live at Free Shakespeare in the Park. After a highly successful, critically acclaimed run at the outdoor Delacorte Theater in New York City’s Central Park, "Much Ado About Nothing" is a bold interpretation of Shakespeare’s comedic masterpiece featuring Danielle Brooks as Beatrice.

Aired 29 November 2019

Rejoice with the Tony Award-winning high-heeled hit musical with songs by pop icon Cyndi Lauper and a book by Broadway legend Harvey Fierstein about an unexpected duo that embraces their differences to create an extraordinary line of shoes.

Aired 30 November 2019

Judas, as played by Brandon Victor Dixon, wows with dance moves and an unforgettable rendition of "Superstar."

Aired 30 November 2019

Enjoy a star-studded concert with celebrated 16-time GRAMMY Award winner David Foster as he explores the music of his career with guest artists Loren Allred, Pia Toscano, Fernando Varela, Sheléa, Katharine McPhee and more.

Aired 1 January 2020

Celebrate 2020 with the Vienna Philharmonic at the Musikverein. Under the baton of guest conductor Andris Nelsons and featuring the Vienna State Ballet, the orchestra will play the waltzes of Strauss. PBS favorite Hugh Bonneville returns as host.

Aired 5 January 2020

Manon prepares to enter a convent when she's struck by love at first sight with Chevalier des Grieux. It's unclear if he can hold her attention when her true loves are wealth and glamour.

Aired 19 January 2020

Watch actors and filmmakers as they are honored for creating films that resonate with older viewers in this star-studded awards ceremony. Celebrating movies that matter, the Awards champion movies for grownups, by grownups.

Aired 2 February 2020

Soprano Hui He plays the tragic title role with tenor Bruce Sledge as the naval officer who abandons her in Puccini’s classic masterpiece. Pier Giorgio Morandi conducts Anthony Minghella’s sweeping production.

Aired 20 March 2020

In an ancient mythical China, three riddles dictate who wins Turandot's heart and who loses their lives. Calàf is one of many to take on the challenge.

Aired 5 April 2020

Experience composer Philip Glass’ visionary masterpiece portraying the impact of the Egyptian Pharaoh Akhnaten as he rises to the throne. Stars Anthony Roth Costanzo in the title role. Karen Kamensek conducts.

Aired 14 April 2020

Experience iconic Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli in an Easter Sunday concert from Milan’s historic cathedral. With the city under lockdown due to COVID-19, the singer performs “Ave Maria,” “Amazing Grace” and more accompanied only by an organist.

Aired 3 May 2020

Experience artist William Kentridge’s interpretation of Berg’s tragic opera set in an apocalyptic pre-World War I environment. Peter Mattei stars in the title role. Met music director Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts.

Aired 8 May 2020

Celebrate the centennial of this landmark orchestra with “La Valse” by Ravel, Stravinsky’s “Firebird” and more led by three renowned LA Phil conductors: Zubin Mehta, Esa-Pekka Salonen, and current music and artistic director Gustavo Dudamel.

Aired 15 May 2020

Enjoy Ravinia Festival’s production of Leonard Bernstein’s musical starring Tony Award-winning baritone Paulo Szot and featuring the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Baltimore Symphony Orchestra artistic director Marin Alsop conducts.

Aired 7 June 2020

Experience Handel’s black comedy of intrigue and impropriety in this production from David McVicar set in the present. Joyce DiDonato stars as the cunning title character with Harry Bicket at the baton.

Aired 19 June 2020 • 114 min

Enjoy a powerful and revealing look at legendary, larger-than-life Texas governor Ann Richards who enriched the lives of her followers, friends and family in this critically acclaimed play written by and starring Emmy Award-winner Holland Taylor.

Aired 26 June 2020

Experience playwright Emily Mann’s unique interpretation of feminist icon Gloria Steinem’s life, performed by an all-female cast starring Emmy Award winner Christine Lahti and directed by Tony Award winner Diane Paulus.

Aired 5 July 2020

Experience Wagner’s eerie early masterpiece telling the tale of the sea captain cursed to sail for eternity. François Girard’s new production stars Evgeny Nikitin in the title role opposite Anja Kampe in her Met debut. Valery Gergiev conducts.

Aired 17 July 2020

Enjoy this classic American folk opera that brings 1920s Charleston to life with a beloved score from George Gershwin in a new production directed by James Robinson. Eric Owens and Angel Blue star in the title roles and David Robertson conducts.

Aired 2 August 2020

Sir David McVicar’s new production of Puccini’s classic stars Sonya Yoncheva, Vittorio Grigolo and Željko Lučić. Opera diva Tosca must rescue her revolutionary lover Cavaradossi from the depraved police chief Scarpia. Isabel Leonard hosts.

Aired 6 September 2020

The first-ever Met production of Donizetti’s opera stars Joyce DiDonato as Mary, Queen of Scots with South African soprano Elza van den Heever as Elizabeth I, Mary’s formidable rival, and Matthew Polenzani as the Earl of Leicester.

Aired 25 June 2021

Enjoy the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra’s performance of selections by Strauss, Wagner, Offenbach, Puccini and more from the Schönbrunn Palace Gardens under the baton of conductor Valery Gergiev featuring Metropolitan Opera tenor Jonas Kaufmann.