Great Performances backdrop
Great Performances poster
Comedy
Documentary
Drama

The Best Episodes of Great Performances Season 52

Every episode of Great Performances Season 52 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of Great Performances Season 52!

The Best Episodes of Great Performances Season 52

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 Émigré: A Musical Drama with the NY Phil
    6.6/10(5 votes)

    #1 - Émigré: A Musical Drama with the NY Phil

    S52:E1

    Enjoy this semi-staged oratorio with the New York Philharmonic and an international cast telling the story of Jewish refugees in World War II Shanghai set to music by Aaron Zigman with lyrics by Mark Campbell and additional lyrics by Brock Walsh.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  2. Background image for Land of Gold
    4.8/10(6 votes)

    #2 - Land of Gold

    S52:E2

    Explore Peter Sellars' San Francisco Opera production of John Adams' "Girls of the Golden West" set during Gold Rush. Go behind the scenes with cast members Julia Bullock, J'Nai Bridges and others as they bring the show to life on stage.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  3. Background image for Patsy Cline: Walkin' After Midnight
    8.2/10(12 votes)

    #3 - Patsy Cline: Walkin' After Midnight

    S52:E3

    Experience the music of Patsy Cline in a star-studded tribute concert featuring Wynonna and more.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  4. Background image for Henry Mancini 100 at the Hollywood Bowl
    7.7/10(25 votes)

    #4 - Henry Mancini 100 at the Hollywood Bowl

    S52:E4

    Celebrate the centennial birthday of composer Henry Mancini with Michael Bublé, Cynthia Erivo, saxophonist Dave Koz, Monica Mancini and host Jeff Goldblum featuring Mancini’s signature songs and clips from his beloved movies and TV shows.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  5. Background image for From Vienna: The New Year’s Celebration 2025
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #5 - From Vienna: The New Year’s Celebration 2025

    S52:E5

    Experience this annual beloved concert from the Golden Hall of the Musikverein celebrating the 200th anniversary of the birth of Johann Strauss. Conducted by Riccardo Muti for the seventh time, PBS favorite Hugh Bonneville returns to host.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  6. Background image for Movies for Grownups® Awards 2025 with AARP The Magazine
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #6 - Movies for Grownups® Awards 2025 with AARP The Magazine

    S52:E6

    Iconic and beloved screen and stage performer Alan Cumming returns as host for this awards show in which Glenn Close receives the Career Achievement Award.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  7. Trending NowTRENDING NOW

    The 20 BEST Episodes of Great Performances

    READ
  8. Background image for Andrea Bocelli 30th – The Celebration
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #7 - Andrea Bocelli 30th – The Celebration

    S52:E7

    Experience the world-renowned Italian tenor’s 30th anniversary concert from Tuscany featuring global superstars Ed Sheeran, David Foster, Katharine McPhee, Sofia Carson, Brian May, Jon Batiste and more. Directed by Grammy nominee and Emmy winner Sam Wrench.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:Sam Wrench
    Writer:Unknown
  9. Background image for Great Performances at the Met: Grounded
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #8 - Great Performances at the Met: Grounded

    S52:E8

    Follow a fighter pilot who operates a drone in a high-tech world battling both war and motherhood. With pressures from every angle, she balances being the perfect soldier, wife and mother. Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts Michael Mayer's staging.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Writer:Unknown
  10. Background image for Now Hear This “Chopin’s Polish Heart”
    7.7/10(10 votes)

    #9 - Now Hear This “Chopin’s Polish Heart”

    S52:E9

    Follow Scott Yoo and pianist Jan Lisiecki as they explore Chopin’s life, his Polish roots, and his journey to Paris taking a closer look at the composer's musical evolution and his deep connection to his homeland while living in France.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  11. Background image for The Magic of Nureyev
    7.4/10(10 votes)

    #10 - The Magic of Nureyev

    S52:E10

    Experience Rudolf Nureyev’s revolutionary 1964 production of "Swan Lake" with ballerina Margot Fonteyn through extensive excerpts and interviews with their fellow dancers Michael Birkmeyer, Gisela Cech and others as they analyze Nureyev’s virtuosity.

    0 Comments
    View all
  12. Background image for Great Performances at the Met: Les Contes d’Hoffmann
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #11 - Great Performances at the Met: Les Contes d’Hoffmann

    S52:E11

    Benjamin Bernheim performs the title role of the tormented poet for Offenbach’s final work. Hoffmann’s trio of lovers are sung by Erin Morley as the mechanical doll Olympia, Pretty Yende as the plagued diva Antonia, and Clémentine Margaine as the Venetian seductress Giulietta.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:Bartlett Sher
    Writer:Unknown
  13. Background image for Now Hear This "Boccherini: Night Music"
    7.3/10(6 votes)

    #12 - Now Hear This "Boccherini: Night Music"

    S52:E12

    Join Scott Yoo and musicians on a night tour of Madrid to uncover Boccherini’s deep love for the city and learn how his iconic "Night Music of the Streets of Madrid" was inspired by his time in Spain, blending history and the pulse of the streets.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  14. Background image for Now Hear This: Rachmaninoff Reborn
    8.2/10(9 votes)

    #13 - Now Hear This: Rachmaninoff Reborn

    S52:E13

    Follow Rachmaninoff’s journey from a Russian aristocrat to an American artist after the Bolshevik revolution. Forced to rebuild at 44, he embraced modern technology, toured extensively and reinvented his career while longing for his lost homeland.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  15. Background image for Now Hear This "Barrios: Chopin of the Guitar"
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #14 - Now Hear This "Barrios: Chopin of the Guitar"

    S52:E14

    Explore Agustin Barrios’ journey from rural Paraguay to global recognition as a guitar composer. Despite facing rejection and personal struggles, his innovative compositions and passion for Latin American folk music made him a 20th-century icon.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  16. Background image for Next to Normal
    9.0/10(138 votes)

    #15 - Next to Normal

    S52:E15

    Experience this Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning Broadway musical directed by Michael Longhurst from London's Donmar Warehouse. Grammy nominee Caissie Levy stars in the story of a suburban family struggling with the effects of mental illness.

    0 Comments
    View all
  17. Background image for Yellow Face
    7.6/10(22 votes)

    #16 - Yellow Face

    S52:E16

    Enjoy Tony winner David Henry Hwang’s comedy starring Daniel Dae Kim as an Asian American playwright who protests “yellowface” casting in the musical “Miss Saigon” only to mistakenly cast a white actor as the Asian lead in his own play.

    0 Comments
    View all
  18. Background image for Great Performances at the Met: Tosca
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #17 - Great Performances at the Met: Tosca

    S52:E17

    Lise Davidsen stars in the title role alongside Freddie De Tommaso in his company debut as her lover Cavaradossi with Quinn Kelsey as the chief of police Scarpia. Met Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  19. Background image for Girl from the North Country
    6.7/10(15 votes)

    #18 - Girl from the North Country

    S52:E18

    Experience 20 reimagined, legendary Bob Dylan songs including “Forever Young,” “Hurricane,” and “Like A Rolling Stone" in this musical set in 1934 Minnesota where a group of travelers’ lives intersect in a guesthouse filled with music, life and hope.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  20. Background image for Kiss Me, Kate
    6.0/10(6 votes)

    #19 - Kiss Me, Kate

    S52:E19

    Enjoy this Cole Porter classic musical featuring iconic songs like “Another Op'nin', Another Show," “So In Love” and more. Tony winner Stephanie J. Block and Adrian Dunbar co-star in a backstage romantic comedy directed by Bartlett Sher.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

Season 52 Ratings Summary

"Émigré: A Musical Drama with the NY Phil" is the best rated episode of "Great Performances" season 52. It scored 6.6/10 based on 5 votes. Directed by Unknown and written by Unknown, it aired on 10/25/2024. This episode is rated 1.8 points higher than the second-best, "Land of Gold".