Bill O'Donnell

A cross-disciplinary tour de force performed by Nashville Ballet, Great Performances: Black Lucy and The Bard explores the love life of William Shakespeare and his muses, the “Dark Lady” and the “Fair Youth,” presenting the idea that these subjects and inspirations in his love sonnets were a Black woman and a young man.

In this contemporary rendering of Shakespeare’s beloved romantic tragedy, a company of actors in a shuttered theater bring to life the tale of two young lovers who strive to transcend a world of violence and hate.

An original film for television by the National Theatre, Great Performances: Romeo & Juliet premieres Friday, April 23 at 9 p.m. on PBS, pbs.org/gperf and the PBS Video app.

From Vienna to Montreal, Berlin to Philadelphia, London to New York City and beyond, celebrated violinist and chief conductor of the Mexico City Philharmonic Scott Yoo discovers the secret stories behind some of the greatest classical music ever composed in the second season of Great Performances: Now Hear This.

PBS's Great Performances and Pacific Symphony, led by Music Director Carl St.Clair, pay tribute to America's history and celebrate the historic American immigrant experience with a special Independence Day weekend program of composer Peter Boyer's Grammy-nominated contemporary classical work a?oeEllis Island: The Dream of America,a?? broadcast nationally on PBS on Friday, July 3 at 9 p.m. (PDT).

Great Performances presents Leonard Bernstein Mass, premiering Friday, May 15 at 9 p.m. on PBS (check local listings), pbs.org/gperf and the PBS Video app.

This summer, Great Performances explores the lives of two trailblazing American women with two acclaimed theatrical productions. Great Performances: Ann, Emmy Award winner Holland Taylor's compelling portrayal of the legendary Texas Governor Ann Richards, premieres Friday, June 19 at 9 p.m. on PBS.

The Los Angeles Philharmonic and Music & Artistic Director Gustavo Dudamel celebrated the orchestra's 100-year anniversary with an historic Centennial Birthday Celebration, October 24, 2019, at Walt Disney Concert Hall. The event, held on the very day of the orchestra's first performance 100 years earlier, featured all three living music directors – Dudamel, Conductor Emeritus Zubin Mehta, and Conductor Laureate Esa-Pekka Salonen – leading the orchestra.

Theater Close-Up, a unique collaboration between THIRTEEN and New York City-area Off-Broadway and regional theaters, returns with three new episodes Fridays, August 16 and 23 at 9 p.m. on THIRTEEN and thirteen.org/theatercloseup, featuring a diverse selection of groundbreaking, entertaining plays recorded live on stage, including the broadcast premieres of Jocelyn Bioh's School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play (August 16 at 9 p.m.) from MCC Theater, Martín Zimmerman's On the Exhale(August 16 at 10:15 p.m.) from Roundabout Theatre Company, and Anton Chekhov'sUncle Vanya (August 23 at 9 p.m.) from Hunter Theater Project.

The fascinating history behind Shakespeare's greatest plays continues with a third series of Shakespeare Uncovered, premiering Fridays, October 12-26 on PBS (check local listings) and streaming the following day at pbs.org/shakespeareuncovered and on PBS apps. The ambitious series concludes with celebrated new hosts Helen Hunt, F. Murray Abraham, Romola Garai, Brian Cox, Simon Russell Beale and Sir Antony Sher, who seamlessly weave their personal passions with history, biography, iconic performances and new analysis to tell the stories behind the stories of Shakespeare's famous works. The final season investigates “Much Ado About Nothing,” “The Merchant of Venice,” “Measure for Measure,” “Julius Caesar,” “The Winter's Tale” and “Richard III.” 

The fascinating history behind Shakespeare's greatest plays continues with a third series of Shakespeare Uncovered, premiering Fridays, October 12-26 on PBS (check local listings) and streaming the following day at pbs.org/shakespeareuncovered and on PBS apps. The ambitious series concludes with celebrated new hosts Helen Hunt, F. Murray Abraham, Romola Garai, Brian Cox, Simon Russell Beale and Sir Antony Sher, who seamlessly weave their personal passions with history, biography, iconic performances and new analysis to tell the stories behind the stories of Shakespeare's famous works. The final season investigates “Much Ado About Nothing,” “The Merchant of Venice,” “Measure for Measure,” “Julius Caesar,” “The Winter's Tale” and “Richard III.” 

The fascinating history behind Shakespeare's greatest plays continues with a third series of Shakespeare Uncovered, premiering Fridays, October 12-26 from 9-11 p.m. on PBS (check local listings) and streaming the following day at pbs.org/shakespeareuncovered and on PBS apps. The ambitious series concludes with celebrated new hosts Helen Hunt, F. Murray Abraham, Romola Garai, Brian Cox, Simon Russell Beale and Sir Antony Sher, who seamlessly weave their personal passions with history, biography, iconic performances and new analysis to tell the stories behind the stories of Shakespeare's famous works. The final season investigates “Much Ado About Nothing,” “The Merchant of Venice,” “Measure for Measure,” “Julius Caesar,” “The Winter's Tale” and “Richard III.” 

A star-studded array of vocal talent with deep ties to Chicago gathers on stage at Lyric Opera to pay tribute to the city's wide-reaching influence across blues, jazz, rock, folk, hip-hop, gospel, opera and classical music in Great Performances: Chicago Voices, premiering nationwide Friday, August 10 at 10 p.m. on PBS (check local listings) and streaming the following day on pbs.org/gperf and PBS apps. Hosted by four-time Grammy-winning soprano Renée Fleming, the multi-genre concert special features performances by Fleming, Tony-winner Jessie Mueller (Waitress, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical), Grammy-winning rapper Lupe Fiasco, three-time Grammy-winning folk legend John Prine, Grammy-winning pop and gospel singer Michelle Williams (Destiny's Child), Grammy-winning jazz singer Kurt Elling and many more in a celebration of Chicago's rich and diverse vocal music legacy.

Season 12 of Great Performances at the Met continues Sunday, July 8 on PBS (check local listings) with a rare Met performance of Rossini's masterpiece Semiramide, starring Angela Meade as the titular Queen of Babylon and Elizabeth DeShong as the warrior Arsace. Javier Camarena, Ildar Abdrazakov and Ryan Speedo Greencomplete the all-star bel canto cast.

Great Performances and Pacific Symphony, led by music director Carl St.Clair, pay tribute to America's history with a performance of composer Peter Boyer's Grammy-nominated contemporary classical work "Ellis Island: The Dream of America," at a free, public screening in Orange County, June 29, 8:00 p.m. at the Musco Center for the Arts at Chapman University.   

THIRTEEN's Great Performances and Pacific Symphony, led by music director Carl St.Clair, pay tribute to America's history with a performance of composer Peter Boyer's “Ellis Island: The Dream of America,” a Grammy-nominated contemporary classical work celebrating the historic American immigrant experience.Great Performances – Ellis Island: The Dream of America with Pacific Symphony premieres nationwideFriday, June 29 at 10 p.m. on PBS (check local listings) in honor of Immigrant Heritage Month. It will be available to stream the following day via pbs.org/gperf and PBS apps.

Great Performances: The Opera House, the new documentary by multiple Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker Susan Froemke (Grey Gardens; Lalee's Kin: The Legacy of Cotton) surveys a remarkable period of the Metropolitan Opera's rich history and a time of great change for New York City. Drawing on rarely seen archival footage, stills and recent interviews, the film chronicles the creation of the Met's storied Lincoln Center home of the last 50 years, set against a backdrop of the artists, architects and politicians who shaped the cultural life of New York City in the 1950s and 60s. Among the notable figures featured in the film are famed soprano Leontyne Price, who opened the Met's present Opera House in 1966 with a starring role in Samuel Barber's Antony and Cleopatra; Rudolf Bing, the Met's imperious general manager who engineered the move from the old house to the new one; Robert Moses, the unstoppable city planner who bulldozed an entire neighborhood to make room for Lincoln Center; and Wallace Harrison, whose quest for architectural glory was never fully realized.

On Friday, May 11, PBS will present an encore broadcast of their enormously successful Great Performances special Chita Rivera: A Lot of Livin' to Do, a career retrospective of the legendary theatrical icon. The program features interviews, archival performance footage and songs from Rivera's concert repertoire including such numbers as "A Boy Like That," "America," "A Lot of Livin' to Do," "All That Jazz," and "Nowadays."  The encore broadcast will air in the New York area on THIRTEEN/WNET Friday, May 11 at 10:00 PM ET. (Check local listings in your area). 

Great Performances: The Opera House, the new documentary by multiple Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker Susan Froemke (Grey Gardens; Lalee's Kin: The Legacy of Cotton) surveys a remarkable period of the Metropolitan Opera's rich history and a time of great change for New York City. Drawing on rarely seen archival footage, stills and recent interviews, the film chronicles the creation of the Met's storied Lincoln Center home of the last 50 years, set against a backdrop of the artists, architects and politicians who shaped the cultural life of New York City in the 1950s and 60s. Amongst the notable figures featured in the film are famed soprano Leontyne Price, who opened the Met's present Opera House in 1966 with a starring role in Samuel Barber's Antony and Cleopatra; Rudolf Bing, the Met's imperious general manager who engineered the move from the old house to the new one; Robert Moses, the unstoppable city planner who bulldozed an entire neighborhood to make room for Lincoln Center; and Wallace Harrison, whose quest for architectural glory was never fully realized.

THIRTEEN's Great Performances and Pacific Symphony, led by music director Carl St.Clair, pay tribute to America's history with a performance of composer Peter Boyer's “Ellis Island: The Dream of America,” a Grammy-nominated contemporary classical work celebrating the historic American immigrant experience. Great Performances – Ellis Island: The Dream of America with Pacific Symphony premieres nationwide Friday, June 29 at 9 p.m. on PBS (check local listings) in honor of Immigrant Heritage Month. It will be available to stream the following day via pbs.org/gperf and PBS apps.