The BEST episodes of Great Performances season 48
Every episode of Great Performances season 48, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of Great Performances season 48!
Great Performances, a television series devoted to the performing arts, has been telecast on PBS since 1972. The show is produced by WNET in New York City. It is one of the longest running performing arts anthologies on television, second only to Hallmark Hall of Fame. Great Performances presents concerts, ballet, opera, an occasional documentary, and plays. The series has also won many television awards, including an Emmy Award, a Peabody Award, and an Image Award, with nods from the Directors Guild of America and the Cinema Audio Society.
#1 - Great Performances at the Met: Lise Davidsen in Concert
Season 48 - Episode 19 - Aired 5/7/2021
The soprano performs arias and songs that brought her success around the world including selections from Wagner’s “Tannhäuser,” Strauss’ “Ariadne auf Naxos,” Puccini’s “Manon Lescaut” and more from Oslo’s Oscarshall Palace in Norway.
Watch Now:Amazon#2 - Romeo & Juliet
Season 48 - Episode 17 - Aired 4/23/2021
An original film for television by the National Theatre. Shakespeare Theatre Company Artistic Director Simon Godwin directs a film interpretation of Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" set in modern-day Italy. Starring Josh O’Connor as Romeo and Jessie Buckley as Juliet.
Watch Now:Amazon#3 - Vienna Philharmonic Summer Night Concert 2021
Season 48 - Episode 30 - Aired 8/27/2021
Watch Now:Amazon
#4 - From Vienna: The New Year’s Celebration 2021
Season 48 - Episode 10 - Aired 1/1/2021
As the world eagerly bids farewell to 2020, Great Performances continues its beloved tradition of ringing in the New Year with the Vienna Philharmonic at the world-famous Musikverein. PBS favorite Hugh Bonneville (Masterpiece: Downton Abbey) returns as host for a fourth year with Riccardo Muti as guest conductor for the sixth time. The Vienna Philharmonic orchestra performs favorite waltzes by Strauss, and the celebration features the Vienna State Ballet dancing on location from notable Vienna landmarks. Due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, Bonneville will host the concert remotely from England on location at Goodwood House, the country estate of the Duke and Duchess of Richmond and Gordon, located north of Chichester.
Watch Now:Amazon
#5 - Now Hear This “Haydn: King of Strings”
Season 48 - Episode 2 - Aired 9/18/2020
Explore the work of famed composer Joseph Haydn’s career with host Scott Yoo and featured guest artists as he discovers how Haydn borrowed folk music from Scotland, Hungary and Austria to create his famous “Emperor Quartet.”
Watch Now:Amazon
#6 - Now Hear This “Becoming Mozart”
Season 48 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/2/2020
Travel with host Scott Yoo and pianist Stewart Goodyear as they visit Yoo’s Festival Mozaic where Goodyear learns to direct an orchestra from the piano while improvising the solos of Mozart’s twentieth piano concerto.
Watch Now:Amazon
#7 - GRAMMY Salute to Music Legends 2020
Season 48 - Episode 5 - Aired 10/16/2020
A spotlight to the winners of the Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award, including Iggy Pop, Roberta Flack, Chicago, John Prine, and more.
Watch Now:Amazon
#8 - Lea Salonga in Concert
Season 48 - Episode 9 - Aired 11/27/2020
Captured in peak performance with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Tony Award-winner Lea Salonga performs the beloved songs she made famous throughout her Broadway career, as well as her signature songs from the animated movie blockbusters “Aladdin” and “Mulan” from the Sydney Opera House.
Watch Now:Amazon#9 - Great Performances at the Met: Jonas Kaufmann in Concert
Season 48 - Episode 15 - Aired 4/2/2021
The superstar tenor sings a program of classic arias from the Baroque interior of the historic Polling Abbey located in the Bavarian countryside outside Munich, Germany. Selections from this performance include “Nessun dorma” from “Turandot,” “E lucevan le stelle” from “Tosca,” “Ah! lève-toi, soleil” from “Roméo et Juliette,” “La fleur que tu m’avais jetée” and many more.
Watch Now:Amazon
#10 - One Man, Two Guvnors
Season 48 - Episode 6 - Aired 11/6/2020
Featuring a Tony Award-winning performance by CBS Late Late Show host James Corden, the hilarious West End and Broadway hit One Man, Two Guvnors by playwright Richard Bean delighted critics and audiences alike during its West End and Broadway productions in 2011 and 2012.
Watch Now:Amazon
#11 - Fiddler: A Miracle of Miracles
Season 48 - Episode 7 - Aired 11/13/2020
Fiddler: A Miracle of Miracles is the first documentary to chronicle the complete story of the international Broadway blockbuster musical “Fiddler on the Roof” by exploring the unexpected richness of its themes as well as its extensive reach across time and cultures. “Fiddler on the Roof” is the tale of Jewish immigrants coming to America, of immigrants and refugees trying to escape persecution in their homeland, of the fraying of tradition, generational tension and the loss of roots. Featuring rare archival footage, the documentary also includes personal experiences and insights into the show’s timeless impact from “Fiddler on the Roof” composer and lyricist Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick as well commentary from former cast and creative members along with famous fans impacted by the musical, including Joel Grey, Topol, Harvey Fierstein, Harold Prince, Itzhak Perlman, Stephen Sondheim, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and many others.
Watch Now:Amazon#13 - Great Performances at the Met: Renée Fleming in Concert
Season 48 - Episode 13 - Aired 3/19/2021
Experience the beloved American soprano perform arias by Puccini and Massenet to selections by Handel and Korngold from the intimate music salon of Dumbarton Oaks in Washington, D.C.
#14 - The Magic of Callas
Season 48 - Episode 11 - Aired 1/15/2021
Explore the legacy of superstar Maria Callas in this documentary detailing her 1964 comeback at London’s Royal Opera House in “Tosca,” featuring insights from fans including Rufus Wainwright and opera stars Thomas Hampson and Kristine Opolais.
#15 - The Arts Interrupted
Season 48 - Episode 20 - Aired 5/14/2021
#16 - Great Performances at the Met: Aleksandra Kurzak & Roberto Alagna in Concert
Season 48 - Episode 21 - Aired 6/4/2021
Recorded in August, the married tenor and soprano duo perform arias and duets from the Château de la Chèvre d’Or perched on a cliff in the South of France. selections performed include the love duet from “Madama Butterfly,” the hilarious “Caro elisir” from “L’Elisir d’Amore,” and the Mexican favorite “Cielito Lindo.”
#17 - Irving Berlin’s Holiday Inn
Season 48 - Episode 8 - Aired 11/24/2020
Roundabout Theatre Company’s festive production of Irving Berlin’s Holiday Inn – The Broadway Musical returns to GREAT PERFORMANCES for a special seasonal encore. Inspired by the 1942 Academy Award-winning film starring Fred Astaire and Bing Crosby, Holiday Inn tells the story of Jim, a song & dance man who decides to leave Broadway’s bright lights to settle down at a Connecticut farmhouse. But country life isn’t quite what he expects until he meets Linda, the schoolteacher next door with talent to spare. Together, they turn his farmhouse into a seasonal inn with show-stopping performances to celebrate each holiday. But when Jim’s best friend Ted tries to lure Linda away to be his new Hollywood dance partner, will Jim be able to salvage another chance at love? Starring Bryce Pinkham, Lora Lee Gayer and Corbin Bleu, the score’s back-to-back Irving Berlin hits include “Cheek to Cheek,” “Easter Parade,” “White Christmas” and many more.
#18 - Movies for Grownups® Awards 2021 with AARP The Magazine
Season 48 - Episode 14 - Aired 3/28/2021
#19 - Romeo and Juliet
Season 48 - Episode 1 - Aired 9/11/2020
Experience a ballet of Shakespeare’s classic from choreographer Kenneth MacMillan performed by dancers from The Royal Ballet set to a score by Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev filmed on atmospheric locations throughout Budapest.
#20 - Now Hear This “The Schubert Generation”
Season 48 - Episode 3 - Aired 9/25/2020
Celebrate the work of Franz Schubert with host Scott Yoo as he plays with young musicians establishing themselves in North America's musical capitals by attempting to master the composer’s music.
#21 - The Magic of Horowitz
Season 48 - Episode 12 - Aired 1/22/2021
Experience legendary pianist Vladimir Horowitz’s 1986 Russian homecoming for a sold-out concert of personal favorites, featuring commentary from former manager Peter Gelb and virtuoso pianists Martha Argerich and Daniil Trifonov.
#22 - Beethoven in Beijing
Season 48 - Episode 16 - Aired 4/16/2021
#23 - Andrea Bocelli: Believe
Season 48 - Episode 22 - Aired 6/5/2021
Enjoy the songs of the internationally beloved tenor’s 2020 album recorded on location in Malta. Selections performed include “Gratia Plena,” a duet with Cecilia Bartoli, and new interpretations of “Ave Maria” and Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah.”
#24 - Mick Fleetwood & Friends
Season 48 - Episode 23 - Aired 6/5/2021
Experience an all-star concert honoring the early years of Fleetwood Mac and founding member Peter Green at the London Palladium featuring artists including Pete Townshend, Steven Tyler, David Gilmour, Noel Gallagher, Christine McVie and more.