Season 43

01 Billy Elliot: The Musical Episode 123rd October 2015 The hit musical both on Broadway and in London’s West End was recorded for broadcast at the show's West End home, the Victoria Palace Theatre, where it is still playing. Billy Elliot the Musical Live features Liam Mower as Older Billy (he was the first boy ever to play Billy Elliot on stage in 2005). Also, 25 current and former Billy Elliots unite on stage for a number. With a score by Elton John. 02 Chita Rivera: A Lot of Livin’ to Do Episode 26th November 2015 A retrospective of Broadway legend Chita Rivera. Luminaries Dick Van Dyke, John Kander, Carol Lawrence, Ben Vereen, and others pay tribute to the dynamic singer, dancer, and actress. Anita in “West Side Story,” Rosie in “Bye Bye Birdie,” Velma in “Chicago,” — these are just some of the iconic roles created by Rivera. Also see newly filmed songs from Rivera’s concert repertoire. 03 Andrea Bocelli: Cinema Episode 327th November 2015 The international superstar tenor Andrea Bocelli lends his unique voice to a lush symphonic salute to the movies, celebrating some of the greatest celluloid songs and scores of all time written by Italian and Hollywood composers. Hollywood luminaries John Travolta, Ryan O’Neal, Ali MacGraw, and Andy Garcia join Bocelli onstage to speak about the films from which the songs derive. 04 From Vienna: The New Year's Celebration 2016 Episode 41st January 2016 Julie Andrews hosts the annual New Year’s Day celebration with the Vienna Philharmonic from Vienna’s Musikverein, a beloved annual tradition. Maestro Mariss Jansons will conduct the popular concert of melodies by the Strauss Family and their contemporaries. The the Vienna Boys’ Choir and soloists of the Vienna State Ballet also perform. 05 Great Performances at the Met: Il Trovatore Episode 522nd January 2016 Soprano Anna Netrebko and tenor Yonghoon Lee make their Met role debuts in Verdi's Il Trovatore. Netrebko sings Leonora, the tortured heroine who sacrifices her own life for the love of the Gypsy troubadour, Manrico, played by Yonghoon Lee. Dmitri Hvorostovsky sings Count di Luna, Dolora Zajick sings her signature role of the gypsy Azucena, and Štefan Kocán is Ferrando. Marco Armiliato conducts. 06 Great Performances at the Met: Otello Episode 621st February 2016 Tony Award-winning director Bartlett Sher’s acclaimed new Met Opera production is led by conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin with Aleksandrs Antonenko in his first Met performance as Otello, the tormented Moor of Venice, with Sonya Yoncheva in her role debut as his innocent wife, Desdemona. Željko Lučić is Otello’s sinister rival, Iago. Great Performances at the Met is now in its 10th season. 07 Great Performances at the Met: Tannhäuser Episode 713th March 2016 Richard Wagner's Tannhäuser comes to Great Performances at the Met for the first time and is conducted by James Levine. The Otto Schenk production gets its first Met revival in more than a decade. Johan Botha makes his Met role debut in the titular role; Eva-Maria Westbroek is Elisabeth; Michelle DeYoung is the goddess Venus; Peter Mattei is Wolfram; and Günther Groissböck is the Landgraf. 08 Great Performances at the Met: Lulu Episode 810th April 2016 Artist William Kentridge directs Alban Berg’s opera Lulu, starring German soprano Marlis Petersen as the irresistible femme fatale. One of the most important and notorious stage works of the 20th century, Lulu is the drama of a young woman who sexually and emotionally dominates a wide range of willing victims, both male and female. Welsh National Opera music director Lothar Koenigs conducts. 09 Joan Baez 75th Birthday Celebration Episode 928th April 2016 A concert with folk music legend Joan Baez and others, celebrating her birthday at the Beacon Theatre in New York City. Baez is joined on stage by stars including David Bromberg, Jackson Browne, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Judy Collins, David Crosby, Emmylou Harris, Indigo Girls, Damien Rice, Paul Simon, Mavis Staples, Nano Stern, and Richard Thompson. 10 Great Performances at the Met: The Pearl Fishers Episode 1021st May 2016 Conducted by Gianandrea Noseda and directed by Penny Woolcock, Bizet’s sweeping romance tells the story of a beautiful Hindu priestess pursued by rival pearl divers competing for her hand. Diana Damrau leads the cast as the priestess Leïla, opposite Matthew Polenzani as Nadir, Mariusz Kwiecien as Zurga, and Nicolas Testé as the high priest Nourabad. 11 Great Performances at the Met: Turandot Episode 1112th June 2016 Hear Swedish soprano Nina Stemme sing the demanding title role of Puccini’s Chinese ice princess, with Anita Hartig as the angelic slave girl Liù and Marco Berti as Calàf. Paolo Carignani conducts Franco Zeffirelli’s spectacular 1987 production. 12 Great Performances at the Met: Manon Lescaut Episode 1213th August 2016 Hear Kristine Opolais and Roberto Alagna as the ill-fated lovers in Puccini’s passionate adaptation of the classic novel about a free-spirited country girl. Sir Richard Eyre’s new production, conducted by Fabio Luisi, is set in the 1940s. 13 Great Performances at the Met: Madama Butterfly Episode 1319th August 2016 Kristine Opolais brings her heartbreaking interpretation of the title role to the series for the first time. Roberto Alagna sings Lieutenant Pinkerton, the callous officer who crushes Butterfly's dreams of love. Debuting conductor Karel Mark Chichon leads a cast that includes Maria Zifchak as Suzuki and Dwayne Croft as Sharpless. 14 Great Performances at the Met: Roberto Devereux Episode 1428th August 2016 The last opera in Donizetti’s Tudor trilogy, directed by Sir David McVicar, stars Sondra Radvanovsky as Elizabeth I and features Matthew Polenzani, Elina Garanca and Mariusz Kwiecien. Maurizio Benini conducts. 15 Great Performances at the Met: Elektra Episode 1518th September 2016 Esa-Pekka Salonen conducts patrice Chéreau’s acclaimed staging of Elektra, with Nina Stemme in the title role on Great Performances at the Met 16 Vienna Philharmonic Summer Night Concert 2016 Episode 1630th September 2016 Led by guest conductor Semyon Bychkov for the very first time, the world-renowned Vienna Philharmonic returns for its 13th open-air concert, with a program of French orchestral classics, in the magnificent gardens of Austria’s Imperial Schönbrunn Palace.