Purlie Victorious Leslie Odom Jr and cast

Great Performances

Arts and Music Series / 5 Seasons

Great Performances brings the best in the performing arts from across America and around the world to a US television audience. It presents a diverse programming portfolio of classical music, opera, popular song, musical theater, dance, drama, and performance documentaries.

Watch Latest: S52 E15

2h 9m / TV-14

Birgit and her "Tosca" Co-Stars

2m 32s

Nilsson performed "Tosca" numerous times in her career. See rare footage of her with her 1968 co-star, Italian lyric tenor Gianni Raimondi, and hear Spanish tenor Plácido Domingo describe performing a matinee with her in 1969.

Birgit's Vocal Technique

1m 53s

Watch as German operatic tenor Jonas Kaufmann explains why Birgit Nilsson was "an unbelievable force of nature" while English-Italian conductor Antonio Pappano breaks down her 1969 performance of "Turandot."

Birgit Nilsson: A League of Her Own

30s

Celebrate the life of Swedish soprano Birgit Nilsson, the face of opera in the late 1950s-70s. This new documentary showcases her greatest roles, including Elektra and The Ring Cycle, in rare footage, plus interviews with Plácido Domingo and more.

Andrea Bocelli @ 60

35s

Celebrate the world-renowned tenor with a concert spotlighting his popular music and opera repertoire including the duet “Fall on Me” performed with his son Matteo along with songs from his new album “Si.”

"Big Yellow Taxi” - Joni 75: A Birthday Celebration

1m 57s

Stars Brandi Carlile; Glen Hansard; Emmylou Harris; Norah Jones; Chaka Khan; Diana Krall; Kris Kristofferson; Los Lobos with La Marisoul, Cesar Castro and Xochi Flores; Graham Nash; Seal; James Taylor; and Rufus Wainwright perform Joni Mitchell’s hit "Big Yellow Taxi" celebrating her 75th birthday celebration.

La Fanciulla del West Preview

30s

Watch Puccini’s blazing love story set in the Wild West, based on David Belasco’s play “The Girl of the Golden West,” starring Eva-Maria Westbroek and Jonas Kaufmann. Marco Armiliato conducts.

Shirley MacLaine's Acceptance Speech

2m 15s

Shirley MacLaine accepts her Career Achievement Honor for her remarkable career comprising more than 50 feature films highlighted by an Academy Award® win and six nominations, seven Golden Globe® Awards — including the Cecil B. DeMille Award for Lifetime Achievement — and six Emmy® Award nominations.

Glenn Close Accepts the Award for Best Actress

2m 13s

Glenn Close said she felt like she was standing on the shoulders of many women — including her mother and two grandmothers — as she accepted the Best Actress award presented by Michael Douglas.

Movies for Grownups Awards with AARP The Magazine Preview

33s

The AARP Movies for Grownups multimedia franchise was established in 2002 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.

Joni 75: A Birthday Celebration Preview

31s

The songs of legendary singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell’s are among the most sublime musical landscapes of human emotion ever created. Mitchell’s unique musical and lyrical gifts are an unprecedented marriage of intimacy and universality, creating a sound that is incomparable, yet relatable to all.

Marnie Preview

30s

Watch composer Nico Muhly’s reimagining of Winston Graham’s novel about a beautiful, mysterious woman who assumes multiple identities. Starring Isabel Leonard in the title role alongside Christopher Maltman as Mark Rutland. Robert Spano conducts.

"Do you believe him?"

2m 12s

Sister James and Sister Aloysius come head-to-head when Sister Aloysius expresses her initial concern over the behavior of Father Flynn in this new opera based on John Patrick Shanley’s acclaimed 2005 Broadway play, later adapted into an Academy Award-nominated 2008 film.

Doubt from the Minnesota Opera Preview

35s

Watch an adaptation of John Patrick Shanley’s hit 2005 Broadway play and the 2008 film about suspicion leading to a battle of wills at a Bronx Catholic school. Starring Christine Brewer, Adriana Zabala, Matthew Worth and Denyce Graves.

Aida Preview

30s

Watch Verdi’s grand opera featuring his most celebrated arias. Starring vocal powerhouses Anna Netrebko in the title role and Anita Rachvelishvili as Amneris as they go toe to toe in this love story set in ancient Egypt. Nicola Luisotti conducts.

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