TV series
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.
Streaming, rental and purchase options
Checked Sep 1, 2026
Great Performances is available to stream on DirecTV On Demand and YouTube TV in United States. Use the direct links below to open the provider.
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.
Choose an episode, then use the watch options above for the show.
Episode 1
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.
Where to watch Great Performances
Episode 2
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.
Where to watch Great Performances
Episode 3
Experience the music of Patsy Cline in a star-studded tribute concert featuring Wynonna and more.
Where to watch Great Performances
Episode 4
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.
Where to watch Great Performances
Episode 5
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.
Guest stars Hugh Bonneville
Episode 6
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.
Guest stars Alan Cumming
Episode 7
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.
Directed by Sam WrenchGuest stars Andrea Bocelli, Zucchero, Matteo Bocelli, Sofia Carson, Ed Sheeran, Johnny Depp, Sofía Vergara, David Foster
Episode 8
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.
Directed by Gary HalvorsonGuest stars Emily D'Angelo, Ben Bliss, Kyle Miller, Greer Grimsley, Earle Patriarco, Nadine Sierra
Episode 9
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.
Guest stars Scott Yoo, Jan Lisiecki
Episode 10
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.
Directed by Anne-Kathrin PeitzGuest stars Charles Jude, Marie-Claude Pietragalla, Julie Kavanagh, Polina Semionova, Kirill Serebrennikov
Episode 11
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.
Directed by Bartlett SherGuest stars Benjamin Bernheim, Erin Morley, Pretty Yende, Clémentine Margaine, Christian van Horn, Vasilisa Berzhanskaya
Episode 12
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.
Guest stars Scott Yoo
Episode 13
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.
Guest stars Scott Yoo, Anna Polonsky, Sonia Goydenko, Yevgeny Sudbin
Episode 14
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.
Guest stars Scott Yoo, Thibaut Garcia, Cyro Delvizio, Fred Sheppard
Episode 15
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.
Directed by Michael LonghurstWritten by Brian YorkeyGuest stars Caissie Levy, Jamie Parker, Jack Wolfe, Eleanor Worthington-Cox, Trevor Dion Nicholas
Episode 16
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.
Directed by Leigh SilvermanWritten by David Henry HwangGuest stars Daniel Dae Kim, Kevin Del Aguila, Ryan Eggold, Francis Jue, Marinda Anderson, Greg Keller, Shannon Tyo
Episode 17
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.
Guest stars Lise Davidsen, Freddie De Tommaso, Quinn Kelsey, Patrick Carfizzi
Episode 18
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.
Directed by Conor McPhersonWritten by Conor McPherson
Episode 19
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.
Directed by Bartlett SherGuest stars Stephanie J. Block, Adrian Dunbar
Episode 20
Angel Blue makes her highly anticipated Met role debut as Aida, the Ethiopian princess torn between love and country. Met Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin takes the podium of Michael Mayer’s staging, featuring intricate projections of ancient Egypt and animations.
Directed by Michael MayerGuest stars Angel Blue, Judit Kutasi, Piotr Beczała, Quinn Kelsey, Morris Robinson, Harold Wilson
Episode 21
In her second role of this season of Great Performances at the Met, Lise Davidsen stars as Leonore, who risks everything to save her husband from the clutches of tyranny. David Butt Philip is the political prisoner Florestan, sharing the stage with Tomasz Konieczny as the villainous Don Pizarro, René Pape as the jailer Rocco, and Ying Fang as Marzelline.
Guest stars David Butt Philip, Tomasz Konieczny, René Pape, Ying Fang, Magnus Dietrich
Episode 22
Conductor Joana Mallwitz makes her Met debut leading the cast in Mozart’s comic masterpiece. Michael Sumuel is the clever valet Figaro opposite Olga Kulchynska as his betrothed, the wily maid Susanna. Joshua Hopkins plays the skirt-chasing Count, Federica Lombardi portrays his anguished wife, and Marianne Crebassa takes on the role of the adolescent page Cherubino.
Guest stars Michael Sumuel, Olga Kulchynska, Joshua Hopkins
Episode 23
The beloved annual concert performed by Vienna Philharmonic takes place in Schönbrunn Palace Park and is conducted for the first time by Maestro Tugan Sokhiev.
Guest stars Tugan Sokhiev, Piotr Beczała
Episode 24
The first new production of the opera at the Met in 20 years, director Claus Guth reimagines the biblical tale through Oscar Wilde’s haunting play, setting it in an intricate Victorian world filled with symbolism and contrasts of darkness and light. Headlining the new staging is Elza van den Heever as the abused and unhinged antiheroine Salome, who demands the head of Jochanaan.
Directed by Claus GuthGuest stars Elza van den Heever, Peter Mattei, Gerhard Siegel, Michelle DeYoung, Piotr Buszewski
Episode information updated Sep 17, 2026
Bray PoorNarrator (voice)
Rue McClanahanFaye Precious
Frederick CoffinOswald
Geraldine FitzgeraldAmy Bisley
Frank LangellaThe Prince of Homburg
Charles KimbroughBenton Arrelsford
Stephen SondheimMaxie Schwartz
PBSUnited States
ThirteenUnited States
