The WORST episodes of Great Performances
Every episode of Great Performances ever, ranked from worst to best by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The worst episodes of Great Performances!
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 - The Contractor
Season 2 - Episode 11 - Aired 4/10/1974
#2 - Enemies
Season 2 - Episode 1 - Aired 1/23/1974
Maxim Gorky’s drama about social unrest in prerevolutionary Russia, performed by members of the Repertory Theater of Lincoln Center and directed by Ellis Rabb. With Peter Donat, Frances Sternhagen, Carrie Nye, Kate Reid, Susan Sharkey, and Mr. Rabb.
#3 - June Moon
Season 2 - Episode 2 - Aired 1/30/1974
The 1929 comedy by George S. Kaufman and Ring Lardner. Marks the acting debut of the composer Stephen Sondheim. Also features Jack Cassidy, Estelle Parsons, and Kevin McCarthy. Bert Shevelove directs.
#4 - Cyrano de Bergerac
Season 2 - Episode 3 - Aired 2/6/1974
#5 - Antigone
Season 2 - Episode 4 - Aired 2/13/1974
#6 - Bernstein's Mass
Season 2 - Episode 6 - Aired 2/27/1974
#7 - Paradise Lost
Season 2 - Episode 7 - Aired 3/6/1974
#8 - In Fashion
Season 2 - Episode 8 - Aired 3/13/1974
#9 - Feasting With Panthers
Season 2 - Episode 9 - Aired 3/27/1974
#10 - A Memory of Two Mondays
Season 2 - Episode 10 - Aired 4/3/1974
#11 - Hogan's Goat
Season 1 - Episode 3 - Aired 2/12/1973
#12 - Bach's Mass in B Minor
Season 2 - Episode 12 - Aired 4/12/1974
#13 - Ceremony of Innocence
Season 2 - Episode 13 - Aired 4/17/1974
#14 - A Touch of the Poet
Season 2 - Episode 14 - Aired 4/24/1974
#15 - The Widowing of Mrs. Holroyd
Season 2 - Episode 15 - Aired 5/8/1974
#16 - Monkey, Monkey, Bottle of Beer, How Many Monkeys Have We Here?
Season 2 - Episode 16 - Aired 5/22/1974
#17 - Concertgebouw Orchestra: Rubinstein
Season 3 - Episode 1 - Aired 10/16/1974
#18 - Berlin Philharmonic: Herbert von Karajan
Season 3 - Episode 2 - Aired 11/13/1974
#19 - Bernstein at Tanglewood
Season 3 - Episode 3 - Aired 12/25/1974
#20 - The Hollow Crown: Henry IV - Part 2
Season 41 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/4/2013
In the aftermath of the Battle of Shrewsbury, Northumberland learns of the death of his son. The Lord Chief Justice attempts, on behalf of the increasingly frail King, to separate Falstaff from Prince Hal. The rebels continue to plot insurrection. Falstaff is sent to recruit soldiers and takes his leave of his mistress, Doll Tearsheet. The rebel forces are overcome. This brings comfort to the dying King, who is finally reconciled to his son. Falstaff rushes to Hal’s coronation with expectations of high office, only to be rebuffed by the former prince who has now become King Henry V.
#21 - Follies in Concert
Season 14 - Episode 10 - Aired 3/14/1986
The incomparable Stephen Sondheim brought his sensational "Follies" to the stage in 1971 where it was hailed as "monumental theater" by The New York Times.
#22 - Vienna Philharmonic Summer Night 2013
Season 40 - Episode 25 - Aired 8/2/2013
Lorin Maazel conducts the Vienna Philharmonic's spring concert saluting Richard Wagner and Giuseppi Verdi; featuring tenor Michael Schade.
#23 - Dancing at Jacob's Pillow: Never Stand Still
Season 40 - Episode 23 - Aired 7/26/2013
Archival footage, performances and interviews with choreographers and dancers at Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival in Becket, Mass.