Purlie Victorious Leslie Odom Jr and cast

Great Performances

Arts and Music Series / 6 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 E5

1h 25m / TV-G

Vienna Philharmonic Summer Night 2011

31s / TV-G

Distinguished conductor Valery Gergiev leads the third annual Vienna Philharmonic Summer Night concert to be telecast on Great Performances, Friday, August 19, 2011 at 9:30 p.m. on PBS (check local listings). This year's theme revolves around "Virtuoso Pictures," as exemplified by the works of Franz Liszt, Niccolo Paganini, Modest Mussorgsky, and Johann Strauss.

Capriccio

31s / TV-G

Renee Fleming sings one of her signature roles, the elegant Countess in Richard Strauss's Capriccio, on Great Performances at the Met Sunday, August 14 at 12 p.m. ET on PBS (check local listings). Andrew Davis, who led the Met premiere of the opera in 1998, returned to conduct its first revival.

GP at the Met: Le Comte Ory

31s / TV-G

A trio of bel canto stars--Juan Diego Florez, Diana Damrau, and Joyce DiDonato--headline the Met's first-ever production of Le Comte Ory, Rossini's final comic masterpiece. Bartlett Sher's hit production will air on Great Performances at the Met Sunday, July 24 at 12 p.m. ET on PBS (check local listings).

Rigoletto from Mantua: "La Donna e Mobile"

2m 37s / TV-G

In this clip from Rigoletto from Mantua, a filmic adaptation of the opera starring Placido Domingo, tenor Vittorio Grigolo as the womanizing Duke of Mantua sings the well known classic canzone, "La Donna e Mobile," known as showcase for operatic tenors. Rigoletto from Mantua airs July 15 at 9:30 p.m. ET on PBS (check local listings).

Rigoletto from Mantua

30s / TV-G

Directed by Marco Bellocchio, Giuseppe Verdi's Rigoletto from Mantua stars Placido Domingo as Rigoletto; Julia Novikova as his daughter Gilda; Vittorio Grigolo as the Duke; and Ruggero Raimondi as the assassin Sparafucile. Recorded in Mantua, Italy and broadcast live around the world on September 4 and 5, 2010, that broadcast airs Friday, July 15 at 9:30 p.m. on PBS (check local listings).

GP at the Met: Lucia di Lammermoor

31s / TV-PG

Lucia di Lammermoor, with French soprano Natalie Dessay in one of her greatest roles as Donizetti's fragile heroine, will air on Great Performances at the Met Sunday, June 26 at 12 p.m. ET on PBS (check local listings). In New York, THIRTEEN will air the production on Thursday, June 23 at 8 p.m.

Eric Clapton Crossroads Guitar Festival 3

31s / TV-PG

In June 2010, Eric Clapton gathered the world's most talented guitar players at the third Crossroads Guitar Festival. All profits benefited The Crossroads Centre in Antigua, a treatment and education facility Clapton founded to help people suffering from chemical dependency. Two hours of highlights, Eric Clapton Crossroads Guitar Festival 3, will air June 6 at 9 p.m. (check local listings).

GP at the Met: Nixon in China

32s / TV-PG

The Metropolitan Opera's premiere production of John Adams' Nixon in China, conducted by the composer and staged by internationally acclaimed director Peter Sellars, will air in primetime on THIRTEEN's Great Performances at the Met Wednesday, June 1 at 9:00 p.m. ET on PBS (check local listings). In New York, THIRTEEN will present an encore broadcast on Sunday, June 5 at 12:30 p.m.

Jackie Evancho: Dream with Me in Concert

30s / TV-G

Jackie is the youngest star in Great Performances' recent Hitman Returns: David Foster & Friends concert, performing virtuoso interpretations of Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Pie Jesu" and Puccini's "O Mio Babbino Caro." David Foster will co-host the solo concert debut of the 10-year-old girl with the extraordinary soprano voice. The Great Performances special will air in June on PBS stations.

Carnegie Hall 120th Anniversary Concert

32s / TV-G

On May 5, 2011, Carnegie Hall commemorated its 120th anniversary with a gala concert featuring Alan Gilbert and the New York Philharmonic and special guests Emanuel Ax, Yo-Yo Ma, Gil Shaham, and Audra McDonald. Carnegie Hall 120th Anniversary Concert - featuring the works of Beethoven, Ellington, Dvorak, and Gershwin - will air on Tuesday, May 31, 2011 from 8-9:30 p.m. (check local listings).

Iphigenie en Tauride

30s / TV-PG

Gluck's rarely performed masterpiece, Iphigenie en Tauride, starring Susan Graham, Placido Domingo and Paul Groves, will air on THIRTEEN's Great Performances at the Met Sunday, May 29 at 12 p.m. ET on PBS (check local listings). Patrick Summers conducts the revival of the Metropolitan Opera's much-lauded production by Stephen Wadsworth.

GP at the Met: La Fanciulla del West

31s / TV-G

The Metropolitan Opera's production of La Fanciulla del West, commemorating the 100th anniversary of the opera's 1910 world premiere at the Met, will air April 24 at 12 p.m. ET on PBS (check local listings). Deborah Voigt sings the role of Minnie, with Marcello Giordani as Dick Johnson (the disguised bandit Ramerrez) and Lucio Gallo as the villainous sheriff Jack Rance.

GP at the Met: Don Carlo

31s / TV-G

The Metropolitan Opera's new production of Verdi's Don Carlo will air on Great Performances at the Met Sunday, April 3 at 12 p.m. ET on PBS (check local listings). The production is conducted by Yannick Nezet-Seguin, directed by Nicholas Hytner, and is starring Roberto Alagna, Marina Poplavskaya, Ferruccio Furlanetto, Simon Keenlyside, and Eric Halfvarson.

Chicago Symphony Orchestra: Pierre Boulez Conducts Mahler

30s

Chicago Symphony Orchestra Conductor Emeritus Pierre Boulez leads the Windy City's internationally renowned orchestra in Gustav Mahler's "Symphony No. 7." The Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association has announced that Music Director Riccardo Muti must withdraw from fall performances due to illness. The change in conductor necessitated the change in the evening’s program to Mahler's Symphony No. 7.

Billy Joel performs "Piano Man" at Shea Stadium

5m 55s / TV-G

Chosen as the last rock act to play the venue, Billy Joel staged his "Last Play at Shea" concerts on July 16 and July 18, 2008, rocking a combined audience of 110,000 fans with one of the most emotionally charged shows ever played at the historic stadium. Watch him perform his classic anthem "Piano Man" at this historic concert.

Billy Joel performs "Captain Jack" at Shea Stadium

7m 17s / TV-PG

Shortly before the demolition of New York City's Shea Stadium in July 2008, superstar Billy Joel electrified audiences with two memorable concerts at the historic arena. Watch him perform the 1973 classic "Captain Jack" in that concert.

Billy Joel: Live at Shea Stadium

30s / TV-G

Shortly before the demolition of New York City's Shea Stadium in July 2008, Billy Joel electrified audiences with two memorable concerts at the arena. Joel's special guests included Tony Bennett, Garth Brooks, and Sir Paul McCartney whose 1965 appearance there with the Beatles was so iconic. Hear those songs performed in full in Billy Joel: Live at Shea Stadium airing March on Great Performances.

Harry Connick Jr., In Concert on Broadway - Preview

30s / TV-G

Taped in July of 2010 at New York's Neil Simon Theater, Harry Connick, Jr. in Concert on Broadway features Connick's big band and a 12-piece string section, with the star on both a Steinway grand and upright honky-tonk piano. The program will air Wednesday, March 2 at 9:30 p.m. (check local listings).

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