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The Best Episodes of Great Performances Season 49

Every episode of Great Performances Season 49 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of Great Performances Season 49!

The Best Episodes of Great Performances Season 49

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...
  1. Background image for Yannick – An Artist’s Journey
    8.3/10(20 votes)

    #1 - Yannick – An Artist’s Journey

    S49:E1

    Experience the music director of the Metropolitan Opera’s meteoric rise to become one of the most acclaimed and sought-after music directors of his generation in this documentary from cinema verité filmmaker Susan Froemke.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  2. Background image for Verdi’s Requiem: The Met Remembers 9/11
    8.4/10(16 votes)

    #2 - Verdi’s Requiem: The Met Remembers 9/11

    S49:E2

    Honor the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks with this special performance hosted by Misty Copeland and led by Met Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin featuring soloists Ailyn Pérez, Michelle DeYoung, Matthew Polenzani and Eric Owens.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  3. Background image for The Red Shoes
    7.0/10(23 votes)

    #3 - The Red Shoes

    S49:E3

    Experience Hans Christian Andersen’s dark fairytale from acclaimed director-choreographer Matthew Bourne with this Olivier Award-winning stage adaptation starring Ashley Shaw, Adam Cooper, Dominic North and Michaela Meazza.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  4. Background image for Great Performances at the Met: Sondra Radvanovsky & Piotr Beczala in Concert
    6.9/10(25 votes)

    #4 - Great Performances at the Met: Sondra Radvanovsky & Piotr Beczala in Concert

    S49:E4

    From the historic Stadthalle in Wuppertal, Germany, recorded in January, this world-famous soprano-tenor pair perform arias and duets from some of their many performances at the Met including Giordano’s “Andrea Chénier,” Verdi’s “La Forza del Destino,” “Luisa Miller” and Dvořák’s “Rusalka," accompanied by Vincenzo Scalera on piano.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  5. Background image for Great Performances at the Met: Three Divas at Versailles
    7.2/10(16 votes)

    #5 - Great Performances at the Met: Three Divas at Versailles

    S49:E5

    Three-time GRAMMY winner Isabel Leonard joins Nadine Sierra and Ailyn Pérez to perform timeless selections by Mozart, Offenbach and Bizet including “Voi che sapete” and “Belle nuit, ô nuit d’amour” along with beloved songs like “Bésame Mucho” and “Cielito Lindo.” The concert was recorded in May at the Royal Opera of Versailles in France and Met Opera soprano Christine Goerke hosts.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  6. Background image for Now Hear This "Beethoven's Ghost"
    5.5/10(15 votes)

    #6 - Now Hear This "Beethoven's Ghost"

    S49:E6

    Go inside the mind of a genius as host Scott Yoo and fellow musicians undertake a recording of Beethoven's most personal music at a historic Berkshires manor to explore the composer’s brilliant career—where they are visited by some unexpected guests.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
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  8. Background image for Great Performances at the Met: Wagnerians in Concert
    6.4/10(12 votes)

    #7 - Great Performances at the Met: Wagnerians in Concert

    S49:E7

    Recorded in May, a quartet of some of opera’s most powerful and dramatic singers comes together at the Hessisches Staatstheater in Wiesbaden, Germany. Sopranos Christine Goerke and Elza van den Heever, tenor Andreas Schager, and baritone Michael Volle perform a program of selections by Wagner and Strauss.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  9. Background image for A John Williams Premiere at Tanglewood
    7.8/10(12 votes)

    #8 - A John Williams Premiere at Tanglewood

    S49:E8

    Experience a concert of works by legendary composer John Williams from Boston Symphony Orchestra’s summer home at Tanglewood including Williams’ new violin concerto performed by virtuoso Anne-Sophie Mutter and other works conducted by Andris Nelsons.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  10. Background image for San Francisco Symphony Reopening Night
    7.4/10(23 votes)

    #9 - San Francisco Symphony Reopening Night

    S49:E9

    Celebrate opening night of San Francisco Symphony’s 110th season as it welcomes its new GRAMMY-winning music director Esa-Pekka Salonen, featuring music by John Adams, esperanza spalding & Wayne Shorter and performances by Alonzo King LINES Ballet.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  11. Background image for Coppelia
    6.3/10(9 votes)

    #10 - Coppelia

    S49:E10

    Enjoy this contemporary reboot of the 1870 ballet favorite that blends live-action ballet with CGI and features ballet stars Michaela DePrince and Daniel Camargo.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  12. Background image for Unforgettable With Love - Natalie Cole
    7.0/10(7 votes)

    #11 - Unforgettable With Love - Natalie Cole

    S49:E12

    Enjoy this special encore of Natalie Cole’s Emmy-winning concert of her GRAMMY-winning album in Great Performances: Unforgettable With Love - Natalie Cole. Featuring classics such as “Mona Lisa,” “The Very Thought of You” and “For Sentimental Reasons,” the concert also features a special performance of Nat King Cole’s signature song “Unforgettable” sung as a duet by Natalie Cole and her father.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  13. Background image for Great Performances at the Met: Bryn Terfel & Friends in Concert
    8.3/10(8 votes)

    #12 - Great Performances at the Met: Bryn Terfel & Friends in Concert

    S49:E13

    Recorded December 2020, the legendary bass-baritone Sir Bryn Terfel performs a holiday program accompanied by Jeff Howard on piano and the Welsh traditional folk group Calan from Brecon Cathedral in the singer’s native Wales.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  14. Background image for Great Performances at the Met: New Year's Eve Gala
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #13 - Great Performances at the Met: New Year's Eve Gala

    S49:E14

    The Met rings in the new year with a gala performance featuring stars Angel Blue, Pretty Yende, Javier Camarena and Matthew Polenzani. Performing from the Parktheater in Kurhaus Göggingen in Augsburg, Germany, the program features arias, duets and ensembles from Donizetti to Puccini, as well as arrangements of operetta and Neapolitan songs.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  15. Background image for From Vienna: The New Year's Celebration 2022
    8.8/10(13 votes)

    #14 - From Vienna: The New Year's Celebration 2022

    S49:E15

    Ring in the new year in Austria at the Musikverein with the Vienna Philharmonic and host Hugh Bonneville in this annual concert of waltzes by Strauss and more under the baton of guest conductor Daniel Barenboim.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  16. Background image for Reopening: The Broadway Revival
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #15 - Reopening: The Broadway Revival

    S49:E16

    Go behind the scenes of Broadway as shows reunite, rehearse and re-stage for their long-awaited reopening nights while the theater industry learns how to turn the lights back on after its longest hiatus in history due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  17. Background image for Great Performances at the Met: Boris Godunov
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #16 - Great Performances at the Met: Boris Godunov

    S49:E17

    Bass René Pape, the world’s reigning Boris, reprises his portrayal of the tortured tsar caught between ambition and paranoia. Conductor Sebastian Weigle leads Mussorgsky’s Russian masterwork in its original 1869 version. Stephen Wadsworth’s production captures the hope and suffering of the Russian people as well as the tsar himself. Met Opera soprano Angel Blue hosts.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  18. Background image for Great Performances at the Met: Eurydice
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    #17 - Great Performances at the Met: Eurydice

    S49:E18

    The ancient Greek myth of Orpheus, who attempts to harness the power of music to rescue his beloved Eurydice from the Underworld, has inspired composers since opera’s earliest days. With a libretto by Sarah Ruhl adapted from her acclaimed 2003 play, the opera reimagines the familiar tale from Eurydice’s point of view.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  19. Background image for Movies for Grownups® Awards 2022 with AARP The Magazine
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #18 - Movies for Grownups® Awards 2022 with AARP The Magazine

    S49:E19

    First broadcast on PBS in 2018, Movies for Grownups Awards with AARP the Magazine returns for a fifth year to celebrate and encourage filmmaking with unique appeal to movie-lovers with a grownup state of mind—and recognize the inspiring artists who make them. Each year the centerpiece honor is the Career Achievement Award, celebrating the contributions cinema legends.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  20. Background image for The Conductor
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    #19 - The Conductor

    S49:E20

    Follow Marin Alsop’s journey to become the first female music director of a major American symphony despite repeated rejection by the classical music industry. Features archival footage with her mentor Leonard Bernstein and is set to a soundtrack of her performances.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  21. Background image for Great Performances at the Met: Fire Shut Up In My Bones
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #20 - Great Performances at the Met: Fire Shut Up In My Bones

    S49:E21

    Experience Grammy-winning composer Terence Blanchard and librettist Kasi Lemmon’s adaptation of Charles M. Blow’s memoir. James Robinson and Camille A. Brown co-direct with Brown also choreographing. Baritone Will Liverman stars with soprano Angel Blue.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  22. Background image for Now Hear This "Amy Beach - American Romantic"
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #21 - Now Hear This "Amy Beach - American Romantic"

    S49:E22

    Host Scott Yoo and his wife, flutist Alice Dade, perform the work of Romantic era classical composer Amy Beach at Festival Mosaic and uncover Beach’s many musical influences. Featuring performances of Beach’s works, the duo visits places Beach took inspiration from throughout her life, including an artist residency at MacDowell in New Hampshire.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  23. Background image for Now Hear This "Florence Price and the American Migration"
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    #22 - Now Hear This "Florence Price and the American Migration"

    S49:E23

    From Little Rock to Chicago, host Scott Yoo follows the trail of the great African American composer Florence Price.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  24. Background image for Now Hear This "Aaron Copland - Dean of American Music"
    7.6/10(8 votes)

    #23 - Now Hear This "Aaron Copland - Dean of American Music"

    S49:E24

    Scott Yoo explores the life and work of Aaron Copland, and how he created the American sound.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  25. Background image for Now Hear This "New American Voices"
    6.7/10(6 votes)

    #24 - Now Hear This "New American Voices"

    S49:E25

    Scott Yoo discovers how American composers are inspired by their immigrant roots today through two composers: Brazilian-born Sergio Assad and Indian American Reena Esmail.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  26. Background image for Great Performances at the Met: Cinderella
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    #25 - Great Performances at the Met: Cinderella

    S49:E26

    Mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard stars as the rags-to-riches princess in Laurent Pelly’s storybook staging of Massenet’s “Cendrillon.” Featuring an all-new English translation by Kelley Rourke and conducted by Maestro Emmanuel Villaume, the cast also includes mezzo-soprano Emily D’Angelo as Cinderella’s Prince Charming, soprano Jessica Pratt as her Fairy Godmother, and more.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

Season 49 Ratings Summary

"Yannick – An Artist’s Journey" is the best rated episode of "Great Performances" season 49. It scored 8.3/10 based on 20 votes. Directed by Unknown and written by Unknown, it aired on 9/3/2021. This episode is rated 0.1 points higher than the second-best, "Verdi’s Requiem: The Met Remembers 9/11".