Great Performances is a presentation of THIRTEEN for WNET, one of America’s most prolific and respected public media providers. For nearly 50 years, WNET has been producing and broadcasting national and local arts programming to the New York community.

The outdoor concert under the stars in the magnificent baroque gardens of Imperial Schönbrunn Palace is free to thousands of attendees in Vienna, and serves the Orchestra’s objective of making classical music accessible to a broad spectrum of concertgoers beyond its usual, core audience. Dancers of the Vienna Ballet join the orchestra for the celebration. The concert was recorded June 7.

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The musical program is presently as follows:

Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Polonaise from the Opera “Eugene Onegin,” op. 24
Modest Mussorgsky: Dance of the Persian Slaves from the Opera “Khovanshchina”
Alexander Borodin : Polovetsian Dances from the Opera “Prince Igor”
Claude Debussy: La Mer
Richard Strauss: Salome’s Dance from the Opera “Salome,” op. 54
Amilcare Ponchielli : Dance of the Hours from the Opera “La Gioconda”

Encores:

Johann Strauss: Wiener Blut, Waltz, op. 354
Gerónimo Giménez: Intermezzo from the Zarzuela “La Boda de Luis Alonso”

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Gustavo Dudamel was born in Venezuela in 1981. His career has been meteoric and at the tender age of 31, he conducts and has conducted the world’s most prestigious orchestras.

He spearheads a most unusual project in his native country which, through classical music, bringing together children and young people from all social backgrounds. Since 2009 he has also been Musical Director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Combining the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Venezuelan Simon Bolivar Orchestra, he recently established a record, performing Gustav Mahler’s Eighth Symphony “Symphony of a Thousand” with over 1,000 musicians in Caracas. The event was broadcast worldwide in cinemas.

He originally planned to study the violin but at the age of 12 his talent for conducting was spotted and thanks to Venezuela’s publicly financed voluntary sector music education program”El Sistema,” he had a meteoric rise to fame.

Vienna Philharmonic Summer Night 2012 is directed by Michael Beyer, with John Walker as producer. For Vienna Philharmonic Summer Night 2012, Sandra Marchart and Heidelinde Rudy are producers. For Great Performances, John Walker is producer; Bill O’Donnell is series producer; David Horn is executive producer.

Major funding for the Great Performances telecast is provided by the Irene Diamond Fund, The Anna Maria and Stephen Kellen Arts Fund, Vivian Milstein, Vera von Kuffner Eberstadt, the Filomen M. D’Agostino Foundation, the Philip and Janice Levin Foundation,  public television viewers, and PBS.  Exclusive corporate support for the concert is provided by Rolex.

Located in the beautiful Berkshire Mountains of western Massachusetts, Tanglewood is one of the world’s most beloved music festivals and serves as the summer home for the famed Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO).

Tanglewood 75^th Anniversary Celebration will feature the BSO, the Boston Pops Orchestra and the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra, under the direction of conductors Keith Lockhart, Andris Nelsons, John Williams, and David Zinman.

Performers will include pianists Emanuel Ax and Peter Serkin, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter and vocalist James Taylor, as well as the Tanglewood Festival Chorus, John Oliver, conductor. The wide-ranging program, taped on July 14, will include Aaron Copland’s “Fanfare for the Common Man”; Leonard Bernstein’s Three Dance Episodes from On the Town; selections from the Great American Songbook (“Over the Rainbow,” “Shall We Dance,” and “Old Man River”); Franz Joseph Haydn’s Piano Concerto in D, 2^nd and 3^rd movements; Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Andante cantabile for cello and strings; Pablo de Sarasate’s Carmen Fantasy, for violin and orchestra; Maurice Ravel’s “La Valse”; and Ludwig van Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy.

“The BSO is one of the many great regional arts institutions to be featured on Great Performances over its four decade history,” said David Horn, executive producer, Great Performances. “GP has enjoyed a long association with the BSO and its summertime home at the Tanglewood festival, dating back to our extensive broadcast collaborations with Leonard Bernstein. We are delighted to return to Tanglewood for this 75^th anniversary concert, which also represents a wonderful homecoming celebration for us.”

The Tanglewood concert is the seventh program in the PBS Arts Summer Festival, which includes documentaries from independent filmmakers that explore a wide spectrum of international art forms and offer an in-depth look at music, theater, art, architecture and cultural history from some of the world’s unique locations. Award-winning television, film and stage star Anna Deavere Smith serves as weekly host for the Summer Festival.

Major funding for the telecast is provided by the Great Performances telecast of the Tanglewood 75^th Anniversary Celebration is made possible by the Irene Diamond Fund, The Mugar Foundation, The Lillian Goldman Programming Endowment, the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Arts Fund, the LuEsther T. Mertz Charitable Trust, Victor and Sono Elmaleh, The Starr Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts and The Philip and Janice Levin Foundation, public television viewers and PBS.

Tanglewood 75^th Anniversary Celebration is a production of THIRTEEN in association with WNET, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Inc, C Major Entertainment, ZDF/ARTE and Unitel/CLASSICA.

Tanglewood 75^th Anniversary Celebration is directed by Bill Cosel. For Great Performances, John Walker and Mitch Owgang are producers; Bill O’Donnell is series producer; David Horn is executive producer.

Tony Bennett: Duets II (Great Performances) • PBS • A Production of RPM TV Productions, Inc.
 

Outstanding Special Class Programs

Herbie Hancock, Gustavo Dudamel And The LA Phil Celebrate Gershwin (Great Performances) • PBS • A production of THIRTEEN in association with WNET, BFMI, WDR in cooperation with ARTE, Los Angeles Philharmonic Association and C Major
 

Outstanding Music Direction

The Thomashefskys: Music And Memories Of A Life In The Yiddish Theater (Great Performances) • PBS • A production of the Thomashefsky Film Project LLC and Thirteen for WNET

Michael Tilson Thomas, Music Director
 

Outstanding Lighting Design/Lighting Direction For A Variety Special

Andrea Bocelli Live In Central Park (Great Performances) • PBS • A Production of Sugar s.r.l. and THIRTEEN for WNET

Robert Barnhart, Lighting Designer
Ted Wells, Lighting Director
Matt Firestone, Lighting Director
Harry Sangmeister, Lighting Director
 

Outstanding Technical Direction, Camerawork, Video Control For A Miniseries, Movie Or A Special

Memphis (Great Performances) • PBS • Broadway Worldwide, Inc.

Steven Cimino, Technical Director
Paul J. Cangialosi, Camera
John Pinto, Camera
Chuck Goslin, Camera
Barry Frischer, Camera
Jeff Latonero, Camera
Len Wechsler, Camera
Susan Noll, Video Control
J.M. Hurley, Video Control
 
 
Visit the Emmys website to see the complete list of nominees.

Holm was the original Ado Annie in Rodgers & Hammerstein’s “Oklahoma!” in which she belted out “I Cain’t Say No,” and also originated the lead in the Harold Arlen musical “Bloomer Girl.” She continued to return to the stage throughout her long career, but received wide acclaim for her Hollywood work in such films as “Gentleman’s Agreement” for which she won an Academy Award, “All About Eve,” and the Cole Porter musical “High Society” wherein she memorably dueted with Frank Sinatra on the jaunty “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?”

The new special, a follow-up to her popular debut special Great Performances Dream With Me in Concert, will be recorded in the opulent splendor of the newly restored Orpheum Theatre, one of Los Angeles’ most venerable landmarks, and will feature such evergreens as “Pure Imagination,” “My Heart Will Go On,” “Can You Feel the Love Tonight,” and “Some Enchanted Evening.”

Watch a preview:

THIRTEEN’s Great Performances is a production of THIRTEEN for WNET, one of America’s most prolific and respected public media providers. For nearly 50 years, WNET has been producing and broadcasting national and local arts programming to the New York community.

Jackie Evancho: Music of the Movies is directed by David Horn with conductor Bill Ross, and will feature Jackie singing arrangements of songs from movies (the full set list follows below).

Jackie Evancho got her big break at just 10-years-old as a contestant on America’s Got Talent, where the breakout star finished in second place.  Her first release for Columbia Records, a Christmas EP titled O Holy Night, was certified Platinum and earned  Jackie the distinction of being the top-selling debut artist in 2010 as well as the youngest solo artist ever to go platinum and debut in the Top 10.

In 2011 she released Dream With Me, her debut major label full-length album.  Dream With Me was produced by the legendary David Foster, and debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200 chart and is certified Gold.  She recorded Dream With Me In Concert for PBS’s Great Performances in 2011, and the special rapidly became one of PBS’ most broadcast programs of the year.

The Songs:
Pure Imagination // Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
Can You Feel The Love Tonight // The Lion King
Some Enchanted Evening // South Pacific
My Heart Will Go On // Titanic
The Summer Knows // Summer of 42
I See The Light // Tangled
(Se) Cinema Paradiso // Cinema Paradiso
The Music Of The Night // The Phantom of the Opera
When I Fall In Love // Sleepless in Seattle
Come What May // Moulin Rouge
Reflection // Mulan

SYCO/Columbia will release the album in October.

The Orpheum opened on February 15, 1926 and has played host to many legendary performers from burlesque queen Sally Rand, the young Judy Garland, and comedian Jack Benny, to jazz luminaries like Ella Fitzgerald, Lena Horne, and Duke Ellington. In later years, performers such as Little Richard, Aretha Franklin and Little Stevie Wonder held the stage there.

Jackie Evancho: Music of the Movies is a co-production of THIRTEEN for WNET and SYCO/Columbia.  For Great Performances, Mitch Owgang is producer; Bill O’Donnell is series producer; and David Horn is executive producer.

Major funding for the Great Performances telecast is provided by the Irene Diamond Fund, the Starr Foundation, and public television viewers.

Watch a preview:

Matthew Polenzani co-stars as Alfredo Germont, a young man from a good family who is willing to risk everything for Violetta. Dmitri Hvorostovsky sings Giorgio Germont, Alfredo’s father, who disapproves of Violetta’s lifestyle, but is moved by her plight.

Met Principal Conductor Fabio Luisi leads Verdi’s romantic tragedy, one of the most beloved operas of all time, in Willy Decker’s highly theatrical production, a hit when it premiered at the Met in 2010.

In recent seasons, Dessay has sung the role at the Vienna State Opera, the Aix-en-Provence Festival, and the Santa Fe Opera. Her numerous Met appearances include four new production premieres: Juliette in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette (2005), the title roles in Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor (2007) and La Fille du Régiment (2008), and the title role in Bellini’s La Sonnambula (2009). Next season, she will make her Met role debut as Cleopatra in a new production of Handel’s Giulio Cesare.

Polenzani sang Alfredo in the 2010 premiere of Decker’s production. He first sang the role at the Met in the 2007-08 season. His Met repertory includes numerous Mozart roles, as well as Ernesto in Donizetti’s Don Pasquale, Roméo in Roméo et Juliette, David in Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, and Fenton in Verdi’s Falstaff.

Giorgio Germont is one of six Verdi roles in Hvorostovsky’s Met repertory. In February, he sang his first performances of Don Carlo in Ernani, which aired recently on Great Performances at the Met; Met audiences have also heard him as the title character in Simon Boccanegra, Rodrigo in Don Carlo, Renato in Un Ballo in Maschera, and di Luna in Il Trovatore. He has sung the elder Germont, one of his most acclaimed interpretations, more than 20 times at the Met over the past decade. Next season, he stars in a new production of Un Ballo in Maschera and a revival of Don Carlo.

In addition to La Traviata, Luisi conducts the new production premiere of Massenet’s Manon (also airing this month on Great Performances at the Met) and three complete cycles of Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen. Earlier this season at the Met, he led the new production premieres of Wagner’s Siegfried and Götterdämmerung and Mozart’s Don Giovanni. He will lead next season’s new production of Un Ballo in Maschera, revivals of Verdi’s Aida and Berlioz’s Les Troyens, and three additional Ring cycles.

In April, Associated Press observed, “Dessay provided what this brilliant production so urgently requires — the star power of a singing actress whose magnetic personality and physical agility can involve us deeply in Violetta’s tragic struggle for happiness.”

La Traviata was originally seen live in movie theaters on April 14 as part of the groundbreaking The Met: Live in HD series, which transmits live performances to more than 1700 movie theaters and performing arts centers in 54 countries around the world.

Great Performances at the Met is a presentation of THIRTEEN for WNET, one of America’s most prolific and respected public media providers. For nearly 50 years, WNET has been producing and broadcasting national and local arts programming to the New York community.

Soprano Deborah Voigt hosts the transmission. Gary Halvorson  directs the telecast.

Great Performances is funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, Irene Diamond Fund and the Philip and Janice Levin Foundation. Corporate support for Great Performances at the Met is provided by Toll Brothers, America’s luxury home builder®.

For the Met, Jay Saks is Music Producer, Mia Bongiovanni and Elena Park are Supervising Producers, and Louisa Briccetti and Victoria Warivonchik are Producers. Peter Gelb is Executive Producer. For Great Performances, Bill O’Donnell is Series Producer; David Horn is Executive Producer.