Great Performances Season 52, Episode 9: Now Hear This “Chopin’s Polish Heart”

1

Émigré: A Musical Drama with the NY Phil

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.

105 min

2

Land of Gold

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.

74 min

3

Patsy Cline: Walkin' After Midnight

Experience the music of Patsy Cline in a star-studded tribute concert featuring Wynonna and more.

83 min

4

Henry Mancini 100 at the Hollywood Bowl

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.

76 min

5

From Vienna: The New Year’s Celebration 2025

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.

85 min

6

Movies for Grownups® Awards 2025 with AARP The Magazine

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.

114 min

7

Andrea Bocelli 30th – The Celebration

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.

84 min

8

Great Performances at the Met: Grounded

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.

165 min

9

Now Hear This “Chopin’s Polish Heart”

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.

54 min

10

The Magic of Nureyev

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.

54 min

11

Great Performances at the Met: Les Contes d’Hoffmann

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.

255 min

12

Now Hear This "Boccherini: Night Music"

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.

54 min

13

Now Hear This: Rachmaninoff Reborn

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.

55 min

14

Now Hear This "Barrios: Chopin of the Guitar"

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.

55 min

15

Next to Normal

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.

129 min

16

Yellow Face

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.

106 min

17

Great Performances at the Met: Tosca

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.

126 min

18

Girl from the North Country

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.

134 min

19

Kiss Me, Kate

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.

150 min

20

Great Performances at the Met: Aida

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.

157 min

21

Great Performances at the Met: Fidelio

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.

147 min

22

Great Performances at the Met: Le Nozze di Figaro

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.

179 min

23

Vienna Philharmonic Summer Night Concert 2025

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.

126 min

24

Great Performances at the Met: Salome

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.

150 min