Great Performances
Season 49
202133 episodes
Episode 1
Yannick – An Artist’s Journey
Sep 3, 20211h 51m
Experience the music director of the Metropolitan Opera’s meteoric rise to become one of the most acclaimed and sought-after music directors of his generation in this documentary from cinema verité filmmaker Susan Froemke.
Episode 2
Verdi’s Requiem: The Met Remembers 9/11
Sep 11, 20211h 30m
Honor the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks with this special performance hosted by Misty Copeland and led by Met Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin featuring soloists Ailyn Pérez, Michelle DeYoung, Matthew Polenzani and Eric Owens.
Episode 3
The Red Shoes
Sep 17, 20211h 38m
Experience Hans Christian Andersen’s dark fairytale from acclaimed director-choreographer Matthew Bourne with this Olivier Award-winning stage adaptation starring Ashley Shaw, Adam Cooper, Dominic North and Michaela Meazza.
Episode 4
Great Performances at the Met: Sondra Radvanovsky & Piotr Beczala in Concert
Oct 1, 2021
From the historic Stadthalle in Wuppertal, Germany, recorded in January, this world-famous soprano-tenor pair perform arias and duets from some of their many performances at the Met including Giordano’s “Andrea Chénier,” Verdi’s “La Forza del Destino,” “Luisa Miller” and Dvořák’s “Rusalka," accompanied by Vincenzo Scalera on piano.
Episode 5
Great Performances at the Met: Three Divas at Versailles
Oct 8, 2021
Three-time GRAMMY winner Isabel Leonard joins Nadine Sierra and Ailyn Pérez to perform timeless selections by Mozart, Offenbach and Bizet including “Voi che sapete” and “Belle nuit, ô nuit d’amour” along with beloved songs like “Bésame Mucho” and “Cielito Lindo.” The concert was recorded in May at the Royal Opera of Versailles in France and Met Opera soprano Christine Goerke hosts.
Episode 6
Now Hear This "Beethoven's Ghost"
Oct 29, 202155m
Go inside the mind of a genius as host Scott Yoo and fellow musicians undertake a recording of Beethoven's most personal music at a historic Berkshires manor to explore the composer’s brilliant career—where they are visited by some unexpected guests.
Episode 7
Great Performances at the Met: Wagnerians in Concert
Nov 5, 2021
Recorded in May, a quartet of some of opera’s most powerful and dramatic singers comes together at the Hessisches Staatstheater in Wiesbaden, Germany. Sopranos Christine Goerke and Elza van den Heever, tenor Andreas Schager, and baritone Michael Volle perform a program of selections by Wagner and Strauss.
Episode 8
A John Williams Premiere at Tanglewood
Nov 12, 20211h 25m
Experience a concert of works by legendary composer John Williams from Boston Symphony Orchestra’s summer home at Tanglewood including Williams’ new violin concerto performed by virtuoso Anne-Sophie Mutter and other works conducted by Andris Nelsons.
Episode 9
San Francisco Symphony Reopening Night
Nov 19, 20211h 22m
Celebrate opening night of San Francisco Symphony’s 110th season as it welcomes its new GRAMMY-winning music director Esa-Pekka Salonen, featuring music by John Adams, esperanza spalding & Wayne Shorter and performances by Alonzo King LINES Ballet.
Episode 10
Coppelia
Nov 26, 20211h 17m
Enjoy this contemporary reboot of the 1870 ballet favorite that blends live-action ballet with CGI and features ballet stars Michaela DePrince and Daniel Camargo.
Episode 12
Unforgettable With Love - Natalie Cole
Nov 27, 20211h 3m
Enjoy this special encore of Natalie Cole’s Emmy-winning concert of her GRAMMY-winning album in Great Performances: Unforgettable With Love - Natalie Cole. Featuring classics such as “Mona Lisa,” “The Very Thought of You” and “For Sentimental Reasons,” the concert also features a special performance of Nat King Cole’s signature song “Unforgettable” sung as a duet by Natalie Cole and her father.
Episode 13
Great Performances at the Met: Bryn Terfel & Friends in Concert
Dec 3, 2021
Recorded December 2020, the legendary bass-baritone Sir Bryn Terfel performs a holiday program accompanied by Jeff Howard on piano and the Welsh traditional folk group Calan from Brecon Cathedral in the singer’s native Wales.
Episode 14
Great Performances at the Met: New Year's Eve Gala
Dec 31, 2021
The Met rings in the new year with a gala performance featuring stars Angel Blue, Pretty Yende, Javier Camarena and Matthew Polenzani. Performing from the Parktheater in Kurhaus Göggingen in Augsburg, Germany, the program features arias, duets and ensembles from Donizetti to Puccini, as well as arrangements of operetta and Neapolitan songs.
Episode 15
From Vienna: The New Year's Celebration 2022
Jan 1, 2022
Ring in the new year in Austria at the Musikverein with the Vienna Philharmonic and host Hugh Bonneville in this annual concert of waltzes by Strauss and more under the baton of guest conductor Daniel Barenboim.
Episode 16
Reopening: The Broadway Revival
Jan 18, 202254m
Go behind the scenes of Broadway as shows reunite, rehearse and re-stage for their long-awaited reopening nights while the theater industry learns how to turn the lights back on after its longest hiatus in history due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Episode 17
Great Performances at the Met: Boris Godunov
Feb 6, 2022
Bass René Pape, the world’s reigning Boris, reprises his portrayal of the tortured tsar caught between ambition and paranoia. Conductor Sebastian Weigle leads Mussorgsky’s Russian masterwork in its original 1869 version. Stephen Wadsworth’s production captures the hope and suffering of the Russian people as well as the tsar himself. Met Opera soprano Angel Blue hosts.
Episode 18
Great Performances at the Met: Eurydice
Mar 6, 2022
The ancient Greek myth of Orpheus, who attempts to harness the power of music to rescue his beloved Eurydice from the Underworld, has inspired composers since opera’s earliest days. With a libretto by Sarah Ruhl adapted from her acclaimed 2003 play, the opera reimagines the familiar tale from Eurydice’s point of view.
Episode 19
Movies for Grownups® Awards 2022 with AARP The Magazine
Mar 18, 2022
First broadcast on PBS in 2018, Movies for Grownups Awards with AARP the Magazine returns for a fifth year to celebrate and encourage filmmaking with unique appeal to movie-lovers with a grownup state of mind—and recognize the inspiring artists who make them. Each year the centerpiece honor is the Career Achievement Award, celebrating the contributions cinema legends.
Episode 20
The Conductor
Mar 25, 20221h 25m
Follow Marin Alsop’s journey to become the first female music director of a major American symphony despite repeated rejection by the classical music industry. Features archival footage with her mentor Leonard Bernstein and is set to a soundtrack of her performances.
Episode 21
Great Performances at the Met: Fire Shut Up In My Bones
Apr 1, 2022
Experience Grammy-winning composer Terence Blanchard and librettist Kasi Lemmon’s adaptation of Charles M. Blow’s memoir. James Robinson and Camille A. Brown co-direct with Brown also choreographing. Baritone Will Liverman stars with soprano Angel Blue.
Episode 22
Now Hear This "Amy Beach - American Romantic"
Apr 8, 202254m
Host Scott Yoo and his wife, flutist Alice Dade, perform the work of Romantic era classical composer Amy Beach at Festival Mosaic and uncover Beach’s many musical influences. Featuring performances of Beach’s works, the duo visits places Beach took inspiration from throughout her life, including an artist residency at MacDowell in New Hampshire.
Episode 23
Now Hear This "Florence Price and the American Migration"
Apr 15, 202255m
From Little Rock to Chicago, host Scott Yoo follows the trail of the great African American composer Florence Price.
Episode 24
Now Hear This "Aaron Copland - Dean of American Music"
Apr 22, 202255m
Scott Yoo explores the life and work of Aaron Copland, and how he created the American sound.
Episode 25
Now Hear This "New American Voices"
Apr 29, 202255m
Scott Yoo discovers how American composers are inspired by their immigrant roots today through two composers: Brazilian-born Sergio Assad and Indian American Reena Esmail.
Episode 26
Great Performances at the Met: Cinderella
May 8, 2022
Mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard stars as the rags-to-riches princess in Laurent Pelly’s storybook staging of Massenet’s “Cendrillon.” Featuring an all-new English translation by Kelley Rourke and conducted by Maestro Emmanuel Villaume, the cast also includes mezzo-soprano Emily D’Angelo as Cinderella’s Prince Charming, soprano Jessica Pratt as her Fairy Godmother, and more.
Episode 27
Anything Goes
May 13, 20222h 21m
Enjoy this London production of Cole Porter’s classic musical led by Sutton Foster who reprises her Tony-winning role as Reno Sweeney directed by Kathleen Marshall with favorite songs like “I Get A Kick Out of You” and “You’re the Top.”
Episode 28
Merry Wives
May 20, 20221h 50m
Experience Shakespeare’s comedic masterpiece from the Public Theater’s Shakespeare in the Park. Set in South Harlem, the play tells the story of the trickster Falstaff and the wily wives who outwit him in a celebration of Black joy, laughter and vitality.
Episode 29
Keeping Company with Sondheim
May 27, 20221h 14m
Take an inside look at the reimagined gender-swapped production as it returns to Broadway during the COVID-19 pandemic. Features new interviews with Tony and Grammy-winning cast members Katrina Lenk, Patti LuPone, Sondheim and more.
Episode 30
Great Performances at the Met: Rigoletto
Jun 17, 2022
Baritone Quinn Kelsey portrays the title role at the Met for the first time, starring alongside soprano Rosa Feola as Gilda and tenor Piotr Beczała as the Duke of Mantua. Maestro Daniele Rustioni leads Verdi’s timeless tragedy reset in 1920s Europe by Tony-winning director Bartlett Sher. Varduhi Abrahamyan plays Maddalena and Andrea Mastroni plays Sparafucile.
Episode 31
Great Performances at the Met: Ariadne Auf Naxos
Jul 3, 2022
Soprano Lise Davidsen brings one of her signature roles to the Met for the first time as the mythological Greek heroine of Strauss’ masterpiece.
Episode 32
Great Performances at the Met: Don Carlos
Aug 7, 2022
For the first time in its history, the Met presents the original five-act French version of Verdi’s epic opera of doomed love among royalty, set against the backdrop of the Spanish Inquisition. Watch this starry cast including tenor Matthew Polenzani in the title role, soprano Sonya Yoncheva as Élisabeth de Valois and Jamie Barton as Eboli.
Episode 33
Vienna Philharmonic Summer Night Concert 2022
Aug 26, 2022
Enjoy the Vienna Philharmonic’s annual summer night concert with cellist Gautier Capuçon under the direction of guest conductor Andris Nelsons at Austria’s Schönbrunn Palace.
Episode 34
Great Performances at the Met: Turandot
Sep 4, 2022
Enjoy opera superstar Liudmyla Monastyrska in the title role of the legendary cold-hearted princess. Marco Armiliato conducts Puccini’s score with tenor Yonghoon Lee as Calàf, the bold prince determined to win the princess' love. Nadine Sierra hosts.