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Great Performances (1971)

53 seasons 717 episodes Comedy, Documentary and Drama

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Synopsis

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.

About the series

Great Performances is a television anthology series dedicated to the performing arts; the banner has been used to televise plays, musicals, opera, ballet, concerts, as well as occasional documentaries. It is produced by the PBS member station WNET in New York City (originally in conjunction with KQED/San Francisco, WTTW/Chicago, Maryland Public Television, South Carolina ETV and KERA-TV/Dallas/Fort Worth).

The series is the longest-running performing arts anthology on television and has won 29 Primetime Emmy Awards, three Peabody Awards, and an Image Award, with nods from the Directors Guild of America and the Cinema Audio Society.

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Great Performances is a television anthology series dedicated to the performing arts; the banner has been used to televise plays, musicals, opera, ballet, concerts, as well as occasional documentaries. It is produced by the PBS member station WNET in New York City (originally in conjunction with KQED/San Francisco, WTTW/Chicago, Maryland Public Television, South Carolina ETV and KERA-TV/Dallas/Fort Worth).

The series is the longest-running performing arts anthology on television and has won 29 Primetime Emmy Awards, three Peabody Awards, and an Image Award, with nods from the Directors Guild of America and the Cinema Audio Society.

History

Great Performances' predecessor, New York Playhouse, premiered on October 7, 1972, with a production of Antigone. In 1973, Exxon and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting provided grants to create Theater in America, which reran the New York Playhouse and some NET Playhouse productions. The first original production for Theater in America was of Enemies. In 1974, WNET added The Great Performance, a series of classical concerts.

In 1976, Great Performances became the umbrella title and the music section was named Music in America. A third section, Dance in America, was also added. The first episode, "Sue's Leg: Remembering the Thirties", featured choreography by Twyla Tharp. Later episodes featured such performers as Mikhail Baryshnikov. Although it is not seen as often as previously, there have recently been new Dance in America programs, such as the Emmy-winning 2005 production of Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake, starring Angel Corella, Gillian Murphy, and the American Ballet Theatre.

In 2007, Great Performances began telecasting performances from the Metropolitan Opera Live in HD series, a series of HD opera tapings repurposed from their original purpose as Fathom Events films carried in high-quality movie theaters for a premium admission price.

Repeat guest hosts include Walter Cronkite, Julie Andrews, Whoopi Goldberg, and Hugh Bonneville. Major underwriters have included The National Endowment for the Arts, The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, PBS viewers, Exxon, Martin Marietta, Texaco, Deluxe, Duracell, Ernst & Young, Chase Manhattan Bank, and UBS.

In 2009, new theme music for Great Performances was introduced, composed by John Williams.

On October 18, 2013, Great Performances celebrated its 40th anniversary with the release of the episode "Great Performances 40th Anniversary Celebration". The episode was taped at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in November 2012 and dedicated to the memory of Phil Ramone, who died from complications due to surgery in March 2013.

Episodes

Critical reception

Great Performances has received generally positive reviews from television critics. Roger Catlin of the Hartford Courant called it "The classiest thing on TV". Ryan Berenz of Channel Guide Magazine wrote of the episode "Annie Lennox: Nostalgia Live in Concert", "Annie Lennox brings the house down". Linda Winer of Newsday called the episode "Billy Elliot" "As good as it gets". Melanie McFarland of Salon.com called the episode "Hamilton's America", "Enthralling [and] uplifting". Marissa Martinelli of Slate called the episode "An American in Paris" "spectacular".

References

External links

Official website

Great Performances at TV Guide

Great Performances at IMDb

Text from Great Performances on Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Performances

Seasons

Cast

Production

Crew

Tags

Questions about the series Great Performances

What is Great Performances about?

Great Performances: 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.

How many seasons does Great Performances have?

Great Performances has 53 seasons, with 717 episodes in total.

Is Great Performances still running?

Great Performances is still running, with new episodes expected.

Who stars in Great Performances?

The cast of Great Performances includes Bray Poor, Donald Buka, Catherine Burns, J.D. Cannon and George Grizzard.

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Trivia

Page updated on 09/13/2026.