Still of people dancing in a performance of Fiddler the musical.

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.

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Richard III

S50 E19 / 2h 19m / TV-14

Experience The Public Theater’s Free Shakespeare in the Park production of Shakespeare’s tragedy with one of his most indelible villains starring Danai Gurira in the title role. Recorded live in July 2022 from Central Park.

Celebrating 50 Years of Broadway's Best

S50 E18 / 1h 25m / TV-PG

Enjoy a revue of milestone Broadway shows and songs from 1973 to 2023 hosted by two-time Tony Award winner Sutton Foster. Features performances by André De Shields, Chita Rivera, Vanessa Williams and more from Lincoln Center’s David H. Koch Theater.

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Now Hear This “Albéniz: Portraits of Spain”

S50 E16 / 54m 25s / TV-PG

Discover the inspirations Spain provided composer Isaac Albéniz with host Scott Yoo, guitarist Manuel Barrueco, and pianist Juan Pérez Floristán along with musicians from Albéniz’s birthplace in the Pyrenees mountains as well as Sevilla, Mallorca and more.

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Now Hear This “Andy Akiho Found (his) Sound”

S50 E15 / 53m 34s / TV-PG

Experience the creation of music from this Japanese American composer with host Scott Yoo using “found” instruments. To develop a music video, the two visit New York City and explore the creative process with an interactive light show and more.

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Now Hear This “Schumann: Genius and Madness”

S50 E14 / 53m 25s / TV-PG

Visit Scotland, Germany and France with host Scott Yoo as he investigates the connection between Robert Schumann’s bipolar disorder and creative genius via experts, musical performances and examining the work of other artists outside world of music.

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Now Hear This “Piazzolla’s History with Tango”

S50 E13 / 53m 55s / TV-PG

Tango to Buenos Aires, Argentina, with host Scott Yoo and flutist Alice Dade to explore the evolution of composer Astor Piazzolla’s work and the music genre itself as it becomes fused with jazz across time and numerous instruments.

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Remember This

S50 E10 / 1h 53m / TV-14

Experience Academy Award nominee David Strathairn as reluctant World War II hero and Holocaust witness, Jan Karski, in this one-man true story of moral courage and individual responsibility.

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The Magic of Spirituals

S50 E9 / 54m 25s / TV-G

Glimpse behind the curtain at opera legends Kathleen Battle and Jessye Norman’s famed concert at Carnegie Hall on March 18, 1990, featuring performance clips and new interviews with opera star Angel Blue, Met Opera General Manager Peter Gelb and more.

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Movies for Grownups® Awards 2023 with AARP The Magazine

S50 E8 / 1h 52m / TV-14

Iconic and beloved screen and stage performer Alan Cumming returns as host for this awards show in which two-time Golden Globe winner and Emmy nominee Jamie Lee Curtis receives the Career Achievement Award.

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Josh Groban's Great Big Radio City Show

S50 E6 / 1h 50m / TV-G

Experience the world-renowned baritone performing songs from many musical genres alongside several special guest stars including Cyndi Lauper, Denée Benton, New York City Ballet principal dancer Tiler Peck and more.

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NY Phil Reopening of David Geffen Hall

S50 E5 / 1h 22m / TV-G

Celebrate this newly reopened home of the New York Philharmonic with a performance of Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” conducted by the NY Phil’s Music Director Jaap van Zweden along with a world premiere by Puerto Rican composer Angélica Negrón.

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Intimate Apparel

S50 E2 / 2h 11m / TV-14

Experience the story of seamstress Esther who begins writing to a mysterious suitor laboring on the Panama Canal. Featuring music by Ricky Ian Gordon, a libretto by Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage, this powerful opera is directed by Tony winner Bartlett Sher.

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Black Lucy and The Bard

S50 E1 / 1h 24m / TV-14

Explore Shakespeare’s love life through the perspective of the “Dark Lady” in this work from Nashville Ballet based on poetry by Caroline Randall Williams and featuring an original score by GRAMMY winner Rhiannon Giddens.

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