Episodes

In a year chock full of star-studded 80th birthday tributes to legendary Broadway composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim, the March 15–16 gala evenings with the New York Philharmonic at New York’s Lincoln Center stood tall.

Chicago Symphony Orchestra Conductor Emeritus Pierre Boulez will replace Music Director Riccardo Muti as conductor for the THIRTEEN Great Performances broadcast on Wednesday, October 27 at 9 p.m. ET on PBS (check local listings).

Director Rupert Goold's gripping stage production of Macbeth, set in a nameless 20th-century militaristic society and starring Sir Patrick Stewart in his Tony-nominated performance as the ambitious general, and Kate Fleetwood as his coldly scheming wife, has been rethought in vivid filmic terms.

America's favorite soprano, Renee Fleming, and Russia's greatest living baritone, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, travel to St. Petersburg--the "Venice of the North"--where they perform great opera scenes in the magnificent palaces of the Czars in the former capital of Imperial Russia.

Shakespeare's immortal "To be, or not to be" takes on a whole new meaning (and medium) as classical stage and screen actors David Tennant and (recently-knighted) Sir Patrick Stewart reprise their roles for a modern-dress, film-for-television adaptation of the Royal Shakespeare Company's (RSC) 2008 stage production of Hamlet.

Multi-Grammy-winning phenomenon Michael Bublé returns to public television in Michael Bublé Meets Madison Square Garden, a musical concert that captures the star in a trademark, high-octane performance. Recorded at New York City’s famed arena, this program’s highlights include a show-stopping collection of Bublé’s hits not included on the DVD release.

Everyone’s favorite “Hitman” David Foster joins Great Performances superstar Andrea Bocelli for a new Christmas concert of holiday classics airing on Thanksgiving night. Showcasing Bocelli’s unmistakable soaring vocals are lush new arrangements infused with the distinctive Foster touch. The inspiring concert performance, recorded at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles.

Considered the most dynamic young conductor in classical music since Bernstein, 28-year-old Gustavo Dudamel begins his tenure as Music Director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic in fall 2009. In this program, learn more about Dudamel, the LA Philharmonic, composer John Adams, and see a movement from John Adams' "City Noir" and Mahler's "Symphony No. 1 in D major" performed at his inaugural concert.

With a career spanning more than half a century, renowned folk artist, political activist, and avid environmentalist, Pete Seeger, turned 90 in May of 2009. In honor of the milestone birthday, a multi-generational roster of artists, whose music has been shaped by Seeger’s vision, gathered at Madison Square Garden on May 3 to celebrate his lifetime achievement.

Wicked’s Idina Menzel and Rent’s Adam Pascal join Great Performances favorite, internationally renowned vocalist Josh Groban in a spectacular London concert revival of Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus’ 1986 cult musical Chess. Featuring diamond-sharp lyrics by Tim Rice (Evita, The Lion King), and the hit-filled production (“One Night in Bangkok,” “I Know Him So Well,” “The Anthem”).

Long-time friends and former band mates Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood team up for a once-in-a-lifetime reunion concert in Eric Clapton & Steve Winwood: Live From Madison Square Garden. The special telecast captures Clapton and Winwood at New York’s Madison Square Garden performing songs from their short-lived Blind Faith collaboration.

Wonder rocketed to stardom at age 12 when he was signed to Motown Records as “Little Stevie Wonder”. Over nearly four decades, Wonder has reinvigorated the music scene with his unique sound, produced nine number one records and won a total of 22 Grammy Awards – and there is no end in sight for the successful superstar.

The 90-minute program showcases aerial dancers off the cliffs of Yosemite National Park, synchronized swimmers underwater at Coral Reef National Monument, and follows some of the country's most exciting young dancers to Mammoth Cave, Wright Brothers National Memorial, the remains of a sugar cane plantation at Virgin Islands National Park, and the sacred terrain of Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park.

2009 Emmy Nominee Ian McKellen recreates his recent stage performance of Shakespeare's tragic monarch in a special television adaptation. Directed by Trevor Nunn, the telecast includes nearly all the original cast members of the sold-out Royal Shakespeare Company production that premiered in Stratford-Upon-Avon in April 2007.

David Leveaux’s stylish production, with sumptuous costumes and sets by Gregory Gale and Tom Pye respectively, remains true to Rostand’s 1897 heartbreaker of a play, bursting with swashbuckling gascons and duplicitous noblemen, fops and ruffians. Its tale of the eponymous philosopher-swordsman (Kline), who pines for his beautiful cousin Roxane (Garner), yet is too ashamed of his large nose.