Season 38

01 Chicago Symphony Orchestra: Pierre Boulez Conducts Mahler Episode 127th October 2010 Chicago Symphony Orchestra Conductor Emeritus Pierre Boulez leads the Windy City's internationally renowned orchestra in Gustav Mahler's "Symphony No. 7." The Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association has announced that Music Director Riccardo Muti must withdraw from fall performances due to illness. The change in conductor necessitated the change in the evening’s program to Mahler's Symphony No. 7. 02 Sondheim! The Birthday Concert Episode 224th November 2010 Performed on Sondheim's 80th birthday in March 2010, Great Performances presents the New York Philharmonic's salute to a true Broadway legend on November 24. Hosted by David Hyde Pierce, gathering to celebrate are acclaimed Sondheim alumni as Laura Benanti, Michael Cerveris, Victoria Clark, Joanna Gleason, Nathan Gunn, Patti LuPone, Marin Mazzie, Audra McDonald, Bernadette Peters, and many more. 03 Celebracion! Dudamel, Florez, and the L.A. Philharmonic Episode 329th December 2010 The October 7 opening night concert of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Music Director Gustavo Dudamel featuring renowned Peruvian tenor Juan Diego Florez at Walt Disney Concert Hall. Actress Eva Mendes hosts the broadcast. 04 From Vienna: The New Year's Celebration 2011 Episode 41st January 2011 Stage and screen legend Julie Andrews returns to host the annual New Year's celebration with the Vienna Philharmonic, under the direction of Mariss Jansons from Vienna's Musikverein. The famed Vienna Boys' Choir will add their celestial voices to the gala 05 Great Performances at the Met: Don Pasquale Episode 55th January 2011 Anna Netrebko revives her sensational turn in this sophisticated bel canto comedy, opposite Matthew Polenzani, Mariusz Kwiecien, and John Del Carlo in the title role. Met Music Director James Levine conducts. When Otto Schenk's production premiered in 2006, the New York Times acclaimed it as "brilliant" and "wonderful." 06 Great Performances at the Met: Boris Godunov Episode 613th February 2011 Adapted from a play by Alexander Pushkin about the extraordinary reign of the 16th-century tsar, Boris Godunov is regarded as one of the masterpieces of the Russian operatic repertoire. The Metropolitan Opera's new production of Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov starring Rene Pape as Boris and conducted by Valery Gergiev. 07 Hitman Returns: David Foster & Friends Episode 72nd March 2011 Music “hitman” David Foster returns to Las Vegas with a showstopping show jam packed with special guests including Seal, Donna Summer, Earth, Wind & Fire and more. 08 Harry Connick in Concert on Broadway Episode 82nd March 2011 Taped in July of 2010 at New York's Neil Simon Theater, Harry Connick, Jr. in Concert on Broadway features Connick's big band and a 12-piece string section, with the star on both a Steinway grand and upright honky-tonk piano. 09 Billy Joel: Live at Shea Stadium Episode 97th March 2011 Shortly before the demolition of New York City's Shea Stadium in July 2008, Billy Joel electrified audiences with two memorable concerts at the arena. Joel's special guests included Tony Bennett, Garth Brooks, and Sir Paul McCartney whose 1965 appearance there with the Beatles was so iconic. Hear those songs performed in full in Billy Joel: Live at Shea Stadium airing March on Great Performances. 10 Great Performances at the Met: Don Carlo Episode 103rd April 2011 The production is conducted by Yannick Nezet-Seguin, directed by Nicholas Hytner, and is starring Roberto Alagna, Marina Poplavskaya, Ferruccio Furlanetto, Simon Keenlyside, and Eric Halfvarson. 11 Great Performances at the Met: La Fanciulla Del West Episode 1124th April 2011 The Metropolitan Opera's production of La Fanciulla del West, commemorating the 100th anniversary of the opera's 1910 world premiere at the Met. Deborah Voigt sings the role of Minnie, with Marcello Giordani as Dick Johnson (the disguised bandit Ramerrez) and Lucio Gallo as the villainous sheriff Jack Rance. 12 Great Performances at the Met: Iphigenie En Tauride Episode 1229th May 2011 Gluck's rarely performed masterpiece, Iphigenie en Tauride, starring Susan Graham, Placido Domingo and Paul Groves. Patrick Summers conducts the revival of the Metropolitan Opera's much-lauded production by Stephen Wadsworth. 13 Carnegie Hall 120th Anniversary Concert Episode 1331st May 2011 On May 5, 2011, Carnegie Hall commemorated its 120th anniversary with a gala concert featuring Alan Gilbert and the New York Philharmonic and special guests Emanuel Ax, Yo-Yo Ma, Gil Shaham, and Audra McDonald. Carnegie Hall 120th Anniversary Concert - featuring the works of Beethoven, Ellington, Dvorak, and Gershwin 14 Great Performances at the Met: Nixon in China Episode 141st June 2011 The Metropolitan Opera's premiere production of John Adams' Nixon in China, conducted by the composer and staged by internationally acclaimed director Peter Sellars. 15 Crossroads Guitar Festival 3 Episode 156th June 2011 In June 2010, Eric Clapton gathered the world's most talented guitar players at the third Crossroads Guitar Festival. All profits benefited The Crossroads Centre in Antigua, a treatment and education facility Clapton founded to help people suffering from chemical dependency. 16 Jackie Evancho Dream With Me In Concert Episode 166th June 2011 Jackie is the youngest star in Great Performances' recent Hitman Returns: David Foster & Friends concert, performing virtuoso interpretations of Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Pie Jesu" and Puccini's "O Mio Babbino Caro." David Foster will co-host the solo concert debut of the 10-year-old girl with the extraordinary soprano voice. 17 Great Performances at the Met: Lucia di Lammermoor Episode 1723rd June 2011 Lucia di Lammermoor, with French soprano Natalie Dessay in one of her greatest roles as Donizetti's fragile heroine. 18 Rigoletto from Mantua Episode 1815th July 2011 Directed by Marco Bellocchio, Giuseppe Verdi's Rigoletto from Mantua stars Placido Domingo as Rigoletto; Julia Novikova as his daughter Gilda; Vittorio Grigolo as the Duke; and Ruggero Raimondi as the assassin Sparafucile. Recorded in Mantua, Italy and broadcast live around the world on September 4 and 5, 2010. 19 Great Performances at the Met: Le Cornte Ory Episode 1924th July 2011 A trio of bel canto stars--Juan Diego Florez, Diana Damrau, and Joyce DiDonato--headline the Met's first-ever production of Le Comte Ory, Rossini's final comic masterpiece. 20 Great Performances at the Met: Capriccio Episode 2014th August 2011 Renee Fleming sings one of her signature roles, the elegant Countess in Richard Strauss's Capriccio. Andrew Davis, who led the Met premiere of the opera in 1998, returned to conduct its first revival. 21 Vienna Philharmonic Summer Night 2011 Episode 2119th August 2011 Distinguished conductor Valery Gergiev leads the third annual Vienna Philharmonic Summer Night concert. This year's theme revolves around "Virtuoso Pictures," as exemplified by the works of Franz Liszt, Niccolo Paganini, Modest Mussorgsky, and Johann Strauss. 22 Placido Domingo: My Favorite Roles Episode 2223rd September 2011 The great Spanish tenor Placido Domingo looks back on his illustrious career - one which has been bountifully preserved on film and video. The celebrated tenor as he looks back and reflects with heartfelt candor on his choicest roles from opera houses around the world in this comprehensive performance documentary.