7.9/1014 votes#1 - Now Hear This “Vivaldi: Something Completely Different”
Season 47 Episode 1 - Aired 9/20/2019
Join Scott Yoo, renowned violinist and conductor of the Mexico City Philharmonic, in Now Hear This, a new four-part documentary miniseries presented by Great Performances that merges music, storytelling, travel and culture, as he chases the secret histories of some of the greatest music ever written.
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8.3/1016 votes#2 - Now Hear This “The Riddle of Bach”
Season 47 Episode 2 - Aired 9/27/2019
Scott Yoo goes to Germany to learn Bach’s sonatas and partitas, widely considered among the greatest works ever written for solo violin. There, Yoo discovers a riddle Bach left behind in his portrait. In trying to solve it, Yoo and his wife, leading flutist Alice Dade, discover that Bach based his melodic style on Vivaldi and his rhythms on the music of the French court.
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7.9/1017 votes#3 - Now Hear This “Scarlatti: Man Out of Time”
Season 47 Episode 3 - Aired 10/4/2019
Join Scott Yoo in Spain and Morocco to discover the greatest composer you’ve never heard of: Domenico Scarlatti. He was the finest keyboard player in Europe, hired by the Queen of Spain as her personal instructor. Into Vivaldi’s melodies and Bach’s fugues, Scarlatti incorporated the sounds of Spain – Moorish, Jewish, Gypsy, folk, dance and guitar – to create a new musical language.
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7.8/1014 votes#4 - Now Hear This “Handel: Italian Style”
Season 47 Episode 4 - Aired 10/11/2019
Before becoming the most famous composer of his time, Handel gained a lifetime of experience in Italy. Welcomed by wealthy patrons, he traveled with the Scarlatti family and learned from Corelli and the masters of the Italian Style. Yoo returns to Italy to follow in Handel’s footsteps, taking in the art, architecture, fashion, food, wine, light and landscape.
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7.6/1014 votes#5 - GRAMMY Salute To Music Legends® 2019
Season 47 Episode 5 - Aired 10/18/2019
In collaboration with the Recording Academy™, Great Performances presents GRAMMY Salute To Music Legends®, the fourth annual all-star concert offering a primetime spotlight for the Recording Academy’s 2019 Special Merit Awards recipients.
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7.9/1032 votes#6 - 42nd Street
Season 47 Episode 6 - Aired 11/1/2019
The 1981 Tony Award winner for Best Musical, 42nd Street is the song-and-dance, American dream fable of Broadway, featuring the iconic songs “42nd Street,” “We’re In the Money,” “Lullaby of Broadway,” “Shuffle Off To Buffalo,” “I Only Have Eyes For You” and many more.
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8.0/1032 votes#7 - Rodgers & Hammerstein’s The King and I
Season 47 Episode 7 - Aired 11/8/2019
Kelli O’Hara and Ken Watanabe star in a Tony Award-winning revival of the beloved musical about a British schoolteacher instructing the royal children of the King of Siam, featuring classic songs including “Shall We Dance?" and “Hello, Young Lovers.”
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7.6/1025 votes#8 - Red
Season 47 Episode 8 - Aired 11/15/2019
Under the watchful gaze of his young assistant—and the growing competitive presence of a new generation of artists—Rothko takes on his greatest career challenge yet: to create a definitive series of paintings for the Philip Johnson-designed Four Seasons restaurant in architect Mies van der Rohe’s iconic Seagram Building.
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8.0/1036 votes#9 - Much Ado About Nothing
Season 47 Episode 9 - Aired 11/22/2019
For the first time in over four decades, Great Performances presents a Public Theater production recorded live at Free Shakespeare in the Park. After a highly successful, critically acclaimed run at the outdoor Delacorte Theater in New York City’s Central Park, "Much Ado About Nothing" is a bold interpretation of Shakespeare’s comedic masterpiece featuring Danielle Brooks as Beatrice.
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7.5/1030 votes#10 - Kinky Boots
Season 47 Episode 10 - Aired 11/29/2019
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.
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7.3/1016 votes#11 - Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert
Season 47 Episode 11 - Aired 11/30/2019
Judas, as played by Brandon Victor Dixon, wows with dance moves and an unforgettable rendition of "Superstar."
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8.6/1014 votes#12 - An Intimate Evening with David Foster
Season 47 Episode 12 - Aired 11/30/2019
Enjoy a star-studded concert with celebrated 16-time GRAMMY Award winner David Foster as he explores the music of his career with guest artists Loren Allred, Pia Toscano, Fernando Varela, Sheléa, Katharine McPhee and more.
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7.5/1015 votes#13 - From Vienna: The New Year’s Celebration 2020
Season 47 Episode 13 - Aired 1/1/2020
Celebrate 2020 with the Vienna Philharmonic at the Musikverein. Under the baton of guest conductor Andris Nelsons and featuring the Vienna State Ballet, the orchestra will play the waltzes of Strauss. PBS favorite Hugh Bonneville returns as host.
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NaN/100 votes#14 - Great Performances at the Met: Manon
Season 47 Episode 14 - Aired 1/5/2020
Manon prepares to enter a convent when she's struck by love at first sight with Chevalier des Grieux. It's unclear if he can hold her attention when her true loves are wealth and glamour.
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7.4/1011 votes#15 - Movies for Grownups Awards 2020 with AARP The Magazine
Season 47 Episode 15 - Aired 1/19/2020
Watch actors and filmmakers as they are honored for creating films that resonate with older viewers in this star-studded awards ceremony. Celebrating movies that matter, the Awards champion movies for grownups, by grownups.
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NaN/100 votes#16 - Great Performances at the Met: Madama Butterfly
Season 47 Episode 16 - Aired 2/2/2020
Soprano Hui He plays the tragic title role with tenor Bruce Sledge as the naval officer who abandons her in Puccini’s classic masterpiece. Pier Giorgio Morandi conducts Anthony Minghella’s sweeping production.
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NaN/100 votes#17 - Great Performances at the Met: Turandot
Season 47 Episode 17 - Aired 3/20/2020
In an ancient mythical China, three riddles dictate who wins Turandot's heart and who loses their lives. Calàf is one of many to take on the challenge.
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8.4/106 votes#18 - Great Performances at the Met: Akhnaten
Season 47 Episode 18 - Aired 4/5/2020
Experience composer Philip Glass’ visionary masterpiece portraying the impact of the Egyptian Pharaoh Akhnaten as he rises to the throne. Stars Anthony Roth Costanzo in the title role. Karen Kamensek conducts.
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NaN/100 votes#19 - Andrea Bocelli: Music for Hope, A Great Performances Special
Season 47 Episode 19 - Aired 4/14/2020
Experience iconic Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli in an Easter Sunday concert from Milan’s historic cathedral. With the city under lockdown due to COVID-19, the singer performs “Ave Maria,” “Amazing Grace” and more accompanied only by an organist.
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NaN/100 votes#20 - Great Performances at the Met: Wozzeck
Season 47 Episode 20 - Aired 5/3/2020
Experience artist William Kentridge’s interpretation of Berg’s tragic opera set in an apocalyptic pre-World War I environment. Peter Mattei stars in the title role. Met music director Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts.
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8.4/1016 votes#21 - LA Phil 100
Season 47 Episode 21 - Aired 5/8/2020
Celebrate the centennial of this landmark orchestra with “La Valse” by Ravel, Stravinsky’s “Firebird” and more led by three renowned LA Phil conductors: Zubin Mehta, Esa-Pekka Salonen, and current music and artistic director Gustavo Dudamel.
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6.0/1025 votes#22 - Leonard Bernstein's Mass
Season 47 Episode 22 - Aired 5/15/2020
Enjoy Ravinia Festival’s production of Leonard Bernstein’s musical starring Tony Award-winning baritone Paulo Szot and featuring the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Baltimore Symphony Orchestra artistic director Marin Alsop conducts.
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NaN/100 votes#23 - Great Performances at the Met: Agrippina
Season 47 Episode 23 - Aired 6/7/2020
Experience Handel’s black comedy of intrigue and impropriety in this production from David McVicar set in the present. Joyce DiDonato stars as the cunning title character with Harry Bicket at the baton.
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8.8/10115 votes#24 - Ann
Season 47 Episode 24 - Aired 6/19/2020
Enjoy a powerful and revealing look at legendary, larger-than-life Texas governor Ann Richards who enriched the lives of her followers, friends and family in this critically acclaimed play written by and starring Emmy Award-winner Holland Taylor.
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7.8/1045 votes#25 - Gloria: A Life
Season 47 Episode 25 - Aired 6/26/2020
Experience playwright Emily Mann’s unique interpretation of feminist icon Gloria Steinem’s life, performed by an all-female cast starring Emmy Award winner Christine Lahti and directed by Tony Award winner Diane Paulus.
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The Best Episodes of Great Performances Season 47
Every episode of Great Performances Season 47 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of Great Performances Season 47!
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...
Genres:ComedyDocumentaryDrama
Network:PBS
Season 47 Ratings Summary
"Now Hear This “Vivaldi: Something Completely Different”" is the best rated episode of "Great Performances" season 47. It scored 7.9/10 based on 14 votes. Directed by N/A and written by N/A, it aired on 9/20/2019. This episode is rated 0.4 points higher than the second-best, "Now Hear This “The Riddle of Bach”".