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The Best Episodes of Great Performances at the Met

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

The Best Episodes of Great Performances at the Met

The Metropolitan Opera's series of live performance transmissions to movie theaters around the world.
  1. Background image for Eugene Onegin
    8.9/10(85 votes)

    #1 - Eugene Onegin

    S1:E4

    Tchaikovsky's “Eugene Onegin,” starring Renée Fleming as Tatiana, a young Russian who's rebuffed by the object of her affection, Eugene Onegin (Dmitri Hvorostovsky). Years later, after she has married a prince (Sergei Aleksashkin), the two meet again and Onegin realizes his error. Olga: Elena Zaremba. Larina: Svetlana Volkova. Lenski: Ramón Vargas.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  2. Background image for L'Elisir d'Amore
    8.9/10(32 votes)

    #2 - L'Elisir d'Amore

    S7:E1

    Season 7 opens with Gaetano Donizetti's comic opera "L'Elisir d'Amore," about a peasant (Matthew Polenzani) who wins the heart of a beautiful farm owner (Anna Netrebko) with the help of a love potion he purchased from a quack doctor (Ambrogio Maestri). Originally broadcast live in movie theaters as part of The Met: Live in HD series. Originally broadcast live in movie theaters as part of The Met: Live in HD series.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  3. Background image for Les Troyens
    8.9/10(31 votes)

    #3 - Les Troyens

    S7:E8

    Berlioz's "Les Troyens," about a Trojan military commander (Bryan Hymel) who flees the fallen Troy and lands in the North African kingdom of Carthage, where he falls for the queen (Susan Graham). Deborah Voigt plays Cassandra, the Trojan prophetess whose warnings about an apparent gift from the Greeks are ignored. Originally broadcast live in movie theaters as part of The Met: Live in HD series.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  4. Background image for Il trittico
    8.8/10(20 votes)

    #4 - Il trittico

    S1:E6

    “Il Trittico,” Puccini's collection of three one-act operas. “Il Tabarro” concerns doomed lovers (Maria Guleghina, Salvatore Licitra); “Suor Angelica,” is about the salvation of a nun (Barbara Frittoli); “Gianni Schicchi” is a charismatic scoundrel (Alessandro Corbelli) out to steal a fortune willed to the church.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  5. Background image for La Fanciulla del West
    8.8/10(31 votes)

    #5 - La Fanciulla del West

    S5:E4

    A production of Puccini's "La Fanciulla del West," about an Old West saloon owner (Deborah Voigt) in a California gold-rush town who'll stop at nothing to get the man (Marcello Giordani) she wants. Originally broadcast live in movie theaters as part of The Met: Live in HD series.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  6. Background image for Anna Bolena
    8.8/10(39 votes)

    #6 - Anna Bolena

    S6:E1

    Season 6 opens with Gaetano Donizetti's "Anna Bolena," based on the last days of Anne Boleyn (Anna Netrebko), the second wife of British monarch Henry VIII (Ildar Abdrazakov). Originally broadcast live in movie theaters as part of The Met: Live in HD series.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
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  8. Background image for Il Trovatore
    8.8/10(42 votes)

    #7 - Il Trovatore

    S10:E1

    Soprano Anna Netrebko appears in her Met role debut as Leonora, the tortured heroine who sacrifices her own life for the love of the Gypsy troubadour. Dmitri Hvorostovsky sings Count di Luna, Yonghoon Lee is Manrico in his Met role debut as the title character, Dolora Zajick sings her signature role of the gypsy Azucena, and Štefan Kocán is Ferrando. Marco Armiliato conducts Sir David McVicar’s Goya-inspired production.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  9. Background image for Jonas Kaufmann in Concert
    8.8/10(20 votes)

    #8 - Jonas Kaufmann in Concert

    S15:E2

    No description available

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  10. Background image for Sonya Yoncheva in Concert
    8.8/10(12 votes)

    #9 - Sonya Yoncheva in Concert

    S15:E8

    No description available

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  11. Background image for Don Pasquale
    8.7/10(77 votes)

    #10 - Don Pasquale

    S5:E1

    The Season 5 premiere features Donizetti's comic "Don Pasquale," starring soprano Anna Netrebko as a penniless young woman who tricks the wealthy Don (John Del Carlo) into thinking he's married her, then acts like a shrew so that he will consent to her marrying his nephew Ernesto (Matthew Polenzani). Originally broadcast live in movie theaters as part of The Met: Live in HD series.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  12. Background image for Ernani
    8.7/10(30 votes)

    #11 - Ernani

    S6:E7

    A production of Verdi's "Ernani," about a maiden (Angela Meade) who is romantically pursued by her uncle (Ferruccio Furlanetto), the Spanish king (Dmitri Hvorostovsky) and a bandit (Marcello Giordani). Originally broadcast live in movie theaters as part of The Met: Live in HD series.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  13. Background image for La Fille du Régiment
    8.6/10(43 votes)

    #12 - La Fille du Régiment

    S2:E8

    Coloratura soprano Natalie Dessay stars as Marie, an orphan adopted by French troops in this production of Donizetti's comedic "Fille du Régiment," which updates the setting from the Napoleonic era to World War I. Tenor Juan Diego Flórez costars as Tonio, the soldier she's promised to wed. Marquise of Berkenfield: Felicity Palmer. Sgt. Sulpice: Alessandro Corbelli. Duchess of Krakenthorp: Marian Seldes.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  14. Background image for Le Comte Ory
    8.6/10(30 votes)

    #13 - Le Comte Ory

    S5:E8

    Rossini's comic "Le Comte Ory" stars Juan Diego Flórez in the title role, a count who competes with his page (Joyce DiDonatofor, in a trouser role) for the hand of a lonely countess (Diana Damrau). Originally broadcast live in movie theaters as part of The Met: Live in HD series.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  15. Background image for Satyagraha
    8.6/10(62 votes)

    #14 - Satyagraha

    S6:E3

    A performance of Philip Glass' "Satyagraha," about the early years of Mahatma Gandhi (Richard Croft). The production costars Rachelle Durkin, Alfred Walker and Kim Josephson; and features large-scale puppetry and sets made of corrugated metal and newspaper. Originally broadcast live in movie theaters as part of The Met: Live in HD series.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  16. Background image for Manon
    8.6/10(59 votes)

    #15 - Manon

    S6:E8

    Soprano Anna Netrebko stars in Jules Massenet's "Manon," about a country girl who, while on her way to a convent, falls for a young man (Piotr Beczala) before succumbing to a promise of a luxurious life offered by a rich nobleman (Christophe Mortagne). Originally broadcast live in movie theaters as part of The Met: Live in HD series.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  17. Background image for Roberto Devereux
    8.6/10(26 votes)

    #16 - Roberto Devereux

    S10:E9

    The last opera in Donizetti’s Tudor trilogy, directed by Sir David McVicar, stars Sondra Radvanovsky as Elizabeth I and features Matthew Polenzani, Elina Garanca and Mariusz Kwiecien. Maurizio Benini conducts.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  18. Background image for Eugene Onegin
    8.6/10(19 votes)

    #17 - Eugene Onegin

    S11:E8

    Anna Netrebko stars as Tatiana, the naïve heroine of Tchaikovsky’s opera, with Peter Mattei as the title character who rejects her. Alexey Dolgov is Onegin’s friend-turned-rival, Lenski, with Elena Maximova as Tatiana’s sister, Olga, and Štefan Kocán as Prince Gremin. Robin Ticciati conducts.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  19. Background image for The Barber of Seville
    8.5/10(73 votes)

    #18 - The Barber of Seville

    S1:E5

    Gioacchino Rossini's classic comic opera “The Barber of Seville” stars Peruvian tenor Juan Diego Flórez as Count Almaviva, whose pursuit of the lovely Rosina (Joyce DiDonato) is aided by the wily barber Figaro (Peter Mattei). Standing in his way is her guardian Dr. Bartolo (John Del Carlo), who plans to marry her himself. Don Basilio: John Relyea. Fiorello: Brian Davis. Ambrogio: Rob Besserer.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  20. Background image for Don Carlo
    8.5/10(47 votes)

    #19 - Don Carlo

    S5:E3

    Verdi's "Don Carlo," about a Spanish prince (Roberto Alagna) who falls for the French princess (Marina Poplavskaya) he's supposed to marry as part of a Spanish-French peace treaty, only to have his father (Ferruccio Furlanetto) decide to wed her himself. Originally broadcast live in movie theaters as part of The Met: Live in HD series.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  21. Background image for Capriccio
    8.5/10(39 votes)

    #20 - Capriccio

    S5:E9

    Renée Fleming stars in Richard Strauss' "Capriccio," about a widowed countess who ponders whether the music or the written word is more important to musical drama while being wooed by a composer (Joseph Kaiser) and a poet (Russell Braun). Originally broadcast live in movie theaters as part of The Met: Live in HD series.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  22. Background image for La Clemenza di Tito
    8.5/10(25 votes)

    #21 - La Clemenza di Tito

    S7:E4

    Mozart's "La Clemenza di Tito" stars Elina Garanca in the trouser role of Sesto, who finds himself enmeshed in an assassination plot against Roman emperor Titus (Giuseppe Filianoti) through the manipulations of vengeful Vitellia (Barbara Frittoli), the daughter of a deposed emperor, after her hopes of becoming his consort are dashed. Originally broadcast live in movie theaters as part of The Met: Live in HD series.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  23. Background image for Elektra
    8.5/10(26 votes)

    #22 - Elektra

    S10:E10

    Elektra, Richard Strauss’s blazing tragedy about an ancient Greek princess hell-bent on revenge, is the final opera production by the legendary director Patrice Chéreau who died in 2013. Esa-Pekka Salonen conducts an extraordinary cast headed by Nina Stemme as the obsessed and bloodthirsty title character.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  24. Background image for I Puritani
    8.4/10(50 votes)

    #23 - I Puritani

    S1:E2

    Anna Netrebko stars in Bellini's bel canto opera "I Puritani" as a bride-to-be whose wedding day is disrupted when her betrothed (Eric Cutler) helps the condemned Queen Enrichetta (Maria Zifchak) escape from the Roundheads (Oliver Cromwell supporters during the English Civil War of the 1640s). Sir Riccardo Forth: Franco Vassallo. Sir Giorgio Walton: John Relyea. Lord Walton: Valerian Ruminski. Sir Bruno Robertson: Eduardo Valdes.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  25. Background image for Giulio Cesare
    8.4/10(18 votes)

    #24 - Giulio Cesare

    S7:E12

    David Daniels and Natalie Dessay star in David McVicar's imaginative take on "Giulio Cesare," Handel's opera about Caesar and Cleopatra. The cast also includes Alice Coote in the trouser role of Sesto, a Roman youth; Guido Loconsolo as Egyptian general Achilla; and John Moore as Roman general Curio. Host: Renée Fleming. Originally broadcast live in movie theaters as part of The Met: Live in HD series.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  26. Background image for The Magic Flute
    8.3/10(75 votes)

    #25 - The Magic Flute

    S1:E1

    Mozart's "The Magic Flute," with Matthew Polenzani (Tamino); Nathan Gunn (Papageno); Erika Miklósa (Queen of the Night); René Pape (Sarastro); Ying Huang (Pamina); Greg Fedderly (Monostatos); and Jennifer Aylmer (Papagena). James Levine conducts.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

Best Episodes Summary

"Eugene Onegin" is the best rated episode of "Great Performances at the Met". It scored 8.9/10 based on 85 votes. Directed by Unknown and written by Unknown, it aired on 4/21/2007. This episode scored 0.0 points higher than the second highest rated, "L'Elisir d'Amore".