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The Best Episodes of Great Performances

Every episode of Great Performances ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of Great Performances!

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The best in the performing arts from across America and around the world including a diverse programming portfolio of classical music, opera, popular song, musical theater, dance, drama, and performance documentaries.

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
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    Great Performances Season 36 Episode 8 - Chess in Concert
    10.0/10(1 votes)

    #1 - Chess in Concert

    S36:E8

    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”).

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  2. Great Performances Season 43 Episode 4 - From Vienna: The New Year's Celebration 2016
    10.0/10(1 votes)

    #2 - From Vienna: The New Year's Celebration 2016

    S43:E4

    Julie Andrews hosts the annual New Year’s Day celebration with the Vienna Philharmonic from Vienna’s Musikverein, a beloved annual tradition. Maestro Mariss Jansons will conduct the popular concert of melodies by the Strauss Family and their contemporaries. The the Vienna Boys’ Choir and soloists of the Vienna State Ballet also perform.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  3. Great Performances Season 45 Episode 3 - She Loves Me
    10.0/10(1 votes)

    #3 - She Loves Me

    S45:E3

    The celebrated score features favorites such as “Vanilla Ice Cream,” “A Romantic Atmosphere,” “Dear Friend,” and “She Loves Me.” The musical is based on a play by Miklos Laszlo, whose well-known romantic story was the basis for the 1940 James Stewart film “The Shop Around the Corner,” the 1949 Judy Garland and Van Johnson musical “In the Good Old Summertime,” and the 1998 Tom Hanks & Meg Ryan film “You’ve Got Mail.”

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  4. Great Performances Season 53 Episode 1 - The Magic of Grace Bumbry
    10.0/10(1 votes)

    #4 - The Magic of Grace Bumbry

    S53:E1

    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."

    Director:Dag Freyer
    Writer:Unknown

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  5. Great Performances Season 53 Episode 2 - Great Performances at the Met: Il Barbiere di Siviglia
    10.0/10(1 votes)

    #5 - Great Performances at the Met: Il Barbiere di Siviglia

    S53:E2

    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.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  6. Great Performances Season 53 Episode 3 - Tiler Peck: Suspending Time
    10.0/10(1 votes)

    #6 - Tiler Peck: Suspending Time

    S53:E3

    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.

    Director:Alex Ramsey
    Writer:Unknown

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    The 20 WORST Episodes of Great Performances

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  7. Great Performances Season 53 Episode 4 - Twelfth Night
    10.0/10(1 votes)

    #7 - Twelfth Night

    S53:E4

    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.

    Directors:Matthew Diamond, Saheem Ali
    Writer:Unknown

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  8. Great Performances Season 53 Episode 5 - Nutcracker from English National Ballet
    10.0/10(1 votes)

    #8 - Nutcracker from English National Ballet

    S53:E5

    Experience the holiday classic in a new light, featuring over 100 dancers and musicians performing at the London Coliseum.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  9. Great Performances Season 53 Episode 6 - From Vienna: The New Year’s Celebration 2026
    10.0/10(1 votes)

    #9 - From Vienna: The New Year’s Celebration 2026

    S53:E6

    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.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  10. Great Performances Season 15 Episode 2 - Episode 2
    9.3/10(92 votes)

    #10 - Episode 2

    S15:E2

    No description available

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  11. Great Performances Season 26 Episode 7 - Episode 7
    9.3/10(20 votes)

    #11 - Episode 7

    S26:E7

    No description available

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  12. Great Performances Season 26 Episode 11 - Episode 11
    9.3/10(52 votes)

    #12 - Episode 11

    S26:E11

    No description available

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  13. Great Performances Season 34 Episode 15 - Garrison Keillor’s Independence Day Special: A Prairie Home Companion at Tanglewood
    9.3/10(19 votes)

    #13 - Garrison Keillor’s Independence Day Special: A Prairie Home Companion at Tanglewood

    S34:E15

    A concert version of the popular radio program.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  14. Great Performances Season 18 Episode 2 - Episode 2
    9.0/10(2 votes)

    #14 - Episode 2

    S18:E2

    No description available

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  15. Great Performances Season 29 Episode 7 - Episode 7
    9.0/10(1 votes)

    #15 - Episode 7

    S29:E7

    No description available

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  16. Great Performances Season 41 Episode 5 - Great Performances 40th Anniversary Celebration
    9.0/10(12 votes)

    #16 - Great Performances 40th Anniversary Celebration

    S41:E5

    In celebration of the series’ 40th anniversary on PBS, a stellar roster of diverse alumni gather to share their stories of what the series has meant to them, with reminiscences and performances by Julie Andrews, Audra McDonald, Don Henley, David Hyde Pierce, Josh Groban, Itzhak Perlman, Peter Martins, Patti Austin and Take 6, Elīna Garanča, and Michael Bublé.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  17. Great Performances Season 47 Episode 10 - Kinky Boots
    9.0/10(1 votes)

    #17 - Kinky Boots

    S47:E10

    Rejoice with the Tony Award-winning high-heeled hit musical with songs by pop icon Cyndi Lauper and a book by Broadway legend Harvey Fierstein about an unexpected duo that embraces their differences to create an extraordinary line of shoes.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  18. Great Performances Season 10 Episode 4 - Episode 4
    8.9/10(26 votes)

    #18 - Episode 4

    S10:E4

    No description available

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  19. Great Performances Season 20 Episode 2 - Episode 2
    8.9/10(23 votes)

    #19 - Episode 2

    S20:E2

    No description available

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  20. Great Performances Season 26 Episode 8 - Episode 8
    8.9/10(25 votes)

    #20 - Episode 8

    S26:E8

    No description available

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  21. Great Performances Season 34 Episode 1 - From Shtetl to Swing
    8.8/10(11 votes)

    #21 - From Shtetl to Swing

    S34:E1

    A collective journey from synagogue choirs to Harlem hot spots, from Yiddish theater to musical extravaganza, from klezmer to ragtime, from symphonic jazz to swing. All the way from the Bowery to Tin Pan Alley to Broadway to Hollywood - FROM SHTETL TO SWING recounts the ebullient story of a musical metamorphosis born in darkest Russia.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  22. Great Performances Season 34 Episode 2 - Episode 2
    8.8/10(121 votes)

    #22 - Episode 2

    S34:E2

    No description available

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  23. Great Performances Season 39 Episode 17 - Great Performances at the Met: The Enchanted Island
    8.8/10(90 votes)

    #23 - Great Performances at the Met: The Enchanted Island

    S39:E17

    The Enchanted Island is a world premiere work that combines Baroque music with a new, English-language libretto featuring characters from Shakespeare, and a starry cast including Danielle de Niese, Joyce DiDonato, David Daniels, Plácido Domingo, and Luca Pisaroni.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  24. Great Performances Season 34 Episode 4 - Episode 4
    8.7/10(79 votes)

    #24 - Episode 4

    S34:E4

    No description available

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  25. Great Performances Season 39 Episode 19 - Great Performances at the Met: Manon
    8.6/10(14 votes)

    #25 - Great Performances at the Met: Manon

    S39:E19

    Star soprano Anna Netrebko sings her first Met performances of the title role in Manon, Massenet’s opera about a country girl with conflicting desires for love and luxury who is drawn into a life of glamorous -- but hollow -- Parisian sophistication.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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Best Episodes Summary

"Chess in Concert" is the best rated episode of "Great Performances". It scored 10/10 based on 1 votes. Directed by Unknown and written by Unknown, it aired on 6/17/2009. This episode scored 0.0 points higher than the second highest rated, "From Vienna: The New Year's Celebration 2016".