Polish film director Mariusz Treli?ski makes his Met debut with the new production, inspired by noir films of the 1940s. Valery Gergiev conducts the two rarely performed one-acts: Tchaikovsky’s lyrical fairy tale Iolanta and Bartók’s harrowing Bluebeard’s Castle. Iolanta stars Anna Netrebko, Piotr Beczala and Aleksei Markov. Bluebeard's Castle stars Nadja Michael and Mikhail Petrenko.

Renée Fleming (Hanna) and Nathan Gunn (Danilo) perform an excerpt of their Act II duet "Hello, Here's a Soldier Bold" from Lehár's The Merry Widow. Costumes are by William Ivey Long and the new production in English is directed by Tony Award-winning choreographer and director Susan Stroman.

The lavish new staging of Lehár’s effervescent operetta The Merry Widow is the Met debut of Broadway director and choreographer Susan Stroman. Soprano Renée Fleming adds a new character to her Met repertory as Hanna, the rich widow. Sir Andrew Davis conducts the cast that also includes baritone Nathan Gunn as Danilo; tenor Alek Shrader; baritone Sir Thomas Allen; and Broadway star Kelli O’Hara.

Elaine Young, a real estate agent to Hollywood stars, and Henry "Keith" Watson, a co-assailant of Reginald Denny, are two of the real people depicted in Anna Deveare Smith's one-woman show Twilight: Los Angeles, about the aftermath of the Los Angeles riots in 1992. See Smith transform from one person to the next, using Young's and Watson's own words.

On the 23rd anniversary year of the Los Angeles riots, Great Performances presents a special encore of Twilight: Los Angeles. Anna Deveare Smith provides a new introduction to her landmark piece as its themes continue to reverberate powerfully within the context of today’s current events.

In 1991, Soon Ja Du, a Korean store owner, received a light sentence in the shooting death of Latasha Harlins, a 15-year-old African-American. Anna Deveare Smith portrays an African-American community activist who repudiates defense attorney Charles Lloyd and draws a parallel between Latasha and Rodney King. Smith also portrays a Korean liquor store owner describing tensions with young customers.

The start of BSO Music Director Andris Nelsons’ tenure with the orchestra features two of the conductor’s close colleagues: his wife, the acclaimed Latvian soprano Kristine Opolais, and the outstanding German tenor Jonas Kaufmann, each singing selections from the Wagnerian and Italian verismo repertoires. The inaugural concert was filmed in September 2014.

Composed in 1924 by Ottorino Respighi, "Pines of Rome" is the second orchestral work in his "Roman trilogy." "Fountains of Rome" (1917) is the first and "Roman Festivals" (1926) is the third. The four movements of "Pines of Rome" depict the city's trees in different locations at different times of the day. Boston Symphony Orchestra: Andris Nelsons’ Inaugural Concert airs May 29 at 9 pm.

Jonas Kaufmann and Kristine Opolais—both frequent collaborators with conductor Andris Nelsons, Opolais' husband—join Nelsons and the Boston Symphony Orchestra to perform the duet “Tu, tu, amore? Tu?” from Puccini’s opera Manon Lescaut. In an interview, Kaufmann jokes that performing a physically passionate duet on stage with Opolais while her husband conducts is simply part of the opera business.

Cavalleria rusticana is a one-act opera by Pietro Mascagni, which received its U.S. premiere in 1891 in Philadelphia. The tragic love story is set in a Sicilian village. Its symphonic Intermezzo has been heard outside opera houses in film soundtracks including Raging Bull and The Godfather Part III. Andris Nelsons conducts the Boston Symphony Orchestra in his inaugural concert with the BSO.

Tenor Jonas Kaufmann and soprano Kristine Opolais join Andris Nelsons at his inaugural concert as as Boston Symphony Orchestra Music Director to perform "O Soave Fanciulla," the Act I Finale from Puccini's opera La Boheme. Born in Riga in 1978 into a family of musicians, Nelsons began his career as a trumpeter in the Latvian National Opera Orchestra before studying conducting.

Italian tenor Vittorio Grigolo stars as the tortured poet unlucky in love in Offenbach’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann on Great Performances at the Met Sunday, May 10 at 12 p.m. on PBS (check local listings). Offenbach based the opera on three stories by E.T.A. Hoffmann. The production is by Broadway director Bartlett Sher. Soprano Deborah Voigt hosts the broadcast.

James Levine leads Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (“The Master-Singer of Nuremberg”) in its first Great Performances at the Met broadcast. Michael Volle is the cobbler-poet Hans Sachs, starring with Johan Botha as Walther, Annette Dasch as Eva, Johannes Martin Kränzle as Beckmesser, Hans-Peter König as Pogner, Paul Appleby as David, and Karen Cargill as Magdalene. Renée Fleming hosts.

The concert of her Grammy-nominated album features Lennox’s takes on iconic American compositions by such artists as Hoagy Carmichael, Duke Ellington, George Gershwin, Billie Holiday and Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, as she pays tribute to some of the greatest artists of the 20th century.

"Mood Indigo" is a jazz standard composed in 1930 by Duke Ellington and Barney Bigard, who played with Ellington's band for 15 years. The lyrics are by Irving Mills. Annie Lennox: Nostalgia Live in Concert airs on PBS on April 3, 2015 at 10 pm (check local listings).

Annie Lennox performs "Georgia on My Mind" from her Nostalgia album, live in concert. The song was written by Hoagy Carmichael (music) and Stuart Gorrell (lyrics) in 1930. It was covered by many artists before the 1960 recording by Ray Charles made it a hit. Annie Lennox: Nostalgia Live in Concert airs on PBS on April 3, 2015 at 10 pm (check local listings).

Annie Lennox sings "I Put a Spell on You" in her live concert of her Grammy-nominated album Nostalgia. Her performance of the song at the 2015 Grammy Awards was one of the most talked about highlights of that broadcast. The song was originally written and recorded in 1956 by Screamin' Jay Hawkins. Lennox's version also opens the film "Fifty Shades of Grey."

George Gershwin composed "Summertime" for his opera Porgy and Bess (1935). The lyrics are by DuBose Heyward, the author of the novel Porgy on which the opera was based. Billie Holiday recorded the song in 1936 and it quickly became a frequently covered jazz standard. Annie Lennox: Nostalgia Live in Concert airs on PBS on April 3, 2015 at 10 pm (check local listings).

Choreographer Mark Morris’s signature work comes to television for the first time, hosted by Mikhail Baryshnikov. Morris garnered international fame for this piece, set to George Frideric Handel’s L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato with poetry by Milton. This performance was filmed July 2014 at the Teatro Real in Madrid, Spain.

Men slap one another in slapstick fashion in a part nicknamed "The Stupid Men's Dance" in choreographer Mark Morris's signature work L’Allegro, Il Penseroso ed il Moderato. The singing is an air for tenor, representing a joyful character, "L'Allegro." The libretto, based on John Milton's poetry, refers to going to see theater by Jonson or Shakespeare.