The BEST episodes of Great Performances season 53
Every episode of Great Performances season 53, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of Great Performances season 53!
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: Il Barbiere di Siviglia
Season 53 - Episode 2 - Aired 10/19/2025
Rossini’s effervescent comedy retakes the stage in Bartlett Sher’s madcap production. Aigul Akhmetshina headlines a winning ensemble as the feisty heroine, Rosina, alongside Jack Swanson, in his Met debut, as her secret beloved, Count Almaviva. Andrey Zhilikhovsky stars as Figaro, the infamous barber of Seville, with Peter Kálmán as Dr. Bartolo and Alexander Vinogradov as Don Basilio.
#2 - Twelfth Night
Season 53 - Episode 4 - Aired 11/14/2025
The Shakespearean comedy of mistaken identity tells the romantic misadventures of twins Sebastian and Viola after they survive a shipwreck, including revenge plots and tricks of love. Recorded this summer at the newly renovated Delacorte Theater in Central Park, the production is directed by Tony Award nominee Saheem Ali.
#3 - From Vienna: The New Year’s Celebration 2026
Season 53 - Episode 6 - Aired 1/1/2026
The famed Vienna Philharmonic rings in the New Year with its annual concert from Vienna's Musikverein conducted for the first time by Yannick Nézet-Séguin with performances by the Vienna State Ballet and location segments hosted by Hugh Bonneville.
#4 - Nutcracker from English National Ballet
Season 53 - Episode 5 - Aired 12/16/2025
Experience the holiday classic in a new light, featuring over 100 dancers and musicians performing at the London Coliseum.
#5 - The Magic of Grace Bumbry
Season 53 - Episode 1 - Aired 10/3/2025
Discover Grace Bumbry’s inspiring rise to global opera fame. Spotlighting her historic performances, the film explores the racial barriers she overcame to triumph in her 1966 performance as "Carmen."
#6 - Tiler Peck: Suspending Time
Season 53 - Episode 3 - Aired 11/7/2025
Follow acclaimed ballerina Tiler Peck as she overcomes injury to reclaim her place on stage and debut her own choreography with New York City Ballet, revealing the resilience and artistry behind a modern-day prima ballerina.
#7 - Movies for Grownups® Awards 2026 with AARP The Magazine
Season 53 - Episode 7 - Aired 2/22/2026
Iconic and beloved screen and stage performer Alan Cumming returns as host for this awards show in which Adam Sandler receives the Career Achievement Award.
#8 - Samara Joy at Royal Albert Hall
Season 53 - Episode 8 - Aired 2/27/2026
A number one album and a double Grammy-win in 2023 put jazz vocalist Samara Joy on the map, officially establishing the Bronx native as the next jazz sensation and a legend in the making, with frequent comparisons to Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan. Fresh from another double win at the 2025 Grammys, Joy makes her much-anticipated debut at London’s legendary Royal Albert Hall.