Playhouse New York

Nelly Windrod is on trial for murder, accused of shooting the local vagrant as he attacked a teenage girl. As the neighbors and families of the former mining town of Eldritch grapple with the sudden upheaval of their lives and struggle to understand how this could happen, long-buried secrets are revealed and the truth is unearthed layer upon layer.

Playhouse New York

A theatrical adaptation of the eloquent young black playwright, Lorraine Hansberry; whose first play, "A Raisin in the Sun," brought her international acclaim; and whose short life, ending in her death at 34 in 1965, was filled with a rebellious quest for freedom. Based on her diaries, letters, and portions of her plays; woven together by her husband, Robert Nemiroff.

Playhouse New York

Drama concerning a mayoral contest between Irish Americans in Brooklyn, New York in 1890. The play's focus is on the personal life of Matthew Stanton, the dynamic leader of the Sixth Ward, who hopes to unseat corrupt incumbent Ned Quinn. Stanton's wife Kathleen fears campaign publicity will reveal that they never were married in the Catholic Church. Quinn discovers this fact and more, including that Stanton was once the "kept man" (known as a "goat" in the lexicon of the time) of Agnes Hogan, Quinn's ex-girlfriend who is now on her deathbed. Blinded by ruthless ambition, Stanton ignores Quinn's threats to reveal his past and forges ahead with the race, ultimately destroying not only his political career, but his marriage as well.

Theater in America

A Theater in America presentation of Maxim Gorky's "Enemies", performed by New York's Repertory Theater of Lincoln Center. "Enemies" is set in the early 1900's Russia, and depicts the discontent and rebellion of the working man who is at the mercy of a powerful few.

Theater in America

"June Moon" is a classic tale of the tunesmith business. It concerns a young rube who leaves his job with General Electric in Schenectady, N.Y. to come to the Big Apple in search of fame and fortune as a lyricist. Said rube becomes the new songwriting partner of Paul Sears, a famous man in danger of losing his position with a major song publishing house because he hasn't had a hit in three years. Sears is a man besieged not only by a fading bank account, but also by his shrewish wife and her gold-digging sister. The rube had met a nice young lady on the train from Schenectady and confided his dream to her. A relationship soon ensued, only to be quickly interrupted. True love is put in limbo as the rube and his savings are whisked about town by the gold-digger. The effort to write the 'Big Hit' eventually gets underway, punctuated by sardonic comments from Maxie Schwartz, the staff cynic and pianist for the publishing house.

Theater in America

The San Francisco American Conservatory Theater's presentation of Edmond Rostand's romantic play about Cyrano de Bergerac, the soldier-poet with the elongated nose, and his love for Roxanne. Cyrano agrees to allow a handsome new recruit, Christian, to use his soul-stirring poetry inspired by his own hopeless love for Roxanne, because he knows his adored lady loves Christian. Cyrano's role runs through the gamut of emotions - from arrogance to humility, from joy to despair.

Theater in America

A production of French dramatist Jean Anouilh's version of Sophocles' tragedy. Introduced by Stacy Keach playing the Greek chorus in a quiet, yet intense conversational tone, he sets the stage for the tragedy to come following King Creon's order that the body of Antigone's brother must lie on the ground unburied for the vultures to dispose of. The rest of the play is a battle between young Antigone, pure in heart and strong in courage, and her uncle King Creon, cultivated and analytical, but tyrannical in his love for power.

Theater in America

The New York Shakespeare Festival Production, taped during the summer of 1973 in Central Park. For most of the way, Lear is a melodramatic figure, orating and declaiming against his evil daughters, Goneril and Regan, and the miserable lot his own shortsightedness has reduced him to. However, eventually having gone mad with despair, Lear becomes a truly touching figure, making his final agony over the dead Cordelia memorable.

Theater in America

Leonard Bernstein's theater piece for singers, players and dancers. It is performed by an entirely youthful cast and based on the liturgy of the Roman Mass. Bernstein's music, with its range of styles incorporating hymns and ballads, interspersed with rock rhythms and blues, is an inspiration in itself. The show was taped in the great hall of the Vienna Konzerthaus during a performance by Yale University students and a Vienna Boys Choir, with a cathedral set on stage made of simple iron scaffolding.

"Mass" was commissioned by Jackie Kennedy to inaugurate the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. and was first performed in September, 1971.

Great Performances

A performance of Bach's great mass, taped at the Klosterkirche in Diessen am Ammersee, West Germany. Conducted by Karl Richter and featuring the Munich Bach Choir and Orchestra with the vocals of Gundula Janowitz, Horst Laubenthal, and Hermann Prey.

Broadcast on a special night for Good Friday, this marks the very first performance under the official banner of Great Performances.

Theater in America

A Cincinnati Playhouse In The Park presentation by Marsha Sheiness. As the play opens, five mothers arrive at a private clinic to pick up their sons. We learn slowly that each boy is mentally challenged and has been submitted as part of a medical experiment to increase their intelligence. Tensions rise as the women reveal their needs, fears, and expectations for their children, both before and after the experiment. One by one each mother is taken from the waiting room to see her child. The drama ends with an unexpected and moving scene between one of the mothers and her child.

Great Performances

Music lovers are offered an experience to treasure as one of the world's foremost pianists, the 88-year-old Arthur Rubinstein, performs Brahms's Piano Concerto No. 1, and Beethoven's Third Piano Concerto. Features soloists from the Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam and Bernard Haitink conducting.

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“Beyond the Steps: Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater” is an absorbing look at the company performing in Russia, the creation of the new ballet “Love Stories,” and the group's new Manhattan facility. Included: comments from artistic director Judith Jamison, associate artistic director Masazumi Chaya, executive director Sharon Gersten Luckman, general manager Calvin Hunt, impresario Paul Szilard, and dancers Dwana Adiaha Smallwood, Guillermo Asca and Denise Jefferson.

“Garrison Keillor's Independence Day Special: A Prairie Home Companion at Tanglewood.” Meryl Streep joins humorist Keillor for a concert version of the popular radio program, featuring the host's annual Lake Wobegon Fourth of July speech, along with characters from the show and the Hopeful Gospel Quartet, the Wailin' Jennys and Guy's All-Star Shoe Band. Taped July 1, 2006, at the Tanglewood Music Festival in Lenox, Mass.

At St. Luke's Church in London, Bruce Springsteen and his Seeger Sessions Band perform folk-music classics, mixing rock, blues, country, ragtime and folk to deliver a glorious gumbo of American music. Included: Blind Alfred Reed's “How Can a Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live,” featuring three new verses inspired by events in New Orleans; the antiwar “Mrs. McGrath”; “O Mary Don't You Weep”; “Pay Me My Money Down”; “John Henry”; “Jacob's Ladder”; “My Oklahoma Home”; and “We Shall Overcome.”

“Vittorio: Dreams of Rome” features tenor Vittorio Grigolo in concert. Songs include “Maria,” “Bedshaped (Cosi)” and “All in Love Is Fair.” Romano Musumarra conducts. Taped at Hadrian's Villa, built by the emperor Hadrian in the 2nd century, near Rome.

“ `Jewels' from the Paris Opera Ballet.” George Balanchine's 1967 work is divided into three parts, “Emeralds,” “Rubies” and “Diamonds,” and set to music by (respectively) Faure, Stravinsky and Tchaikovsky. Kader Belarbi, Aurelie Dupont, Mathieu Ganio, Marie-Agnes Gillot, Agnes Letestu, Clairemarie Osta, Laetitia Pujol. Paul Connelly conducts the Paris Opera Orchestra. Taped at the Palais Garnier in November 2005.

“The Vienna State Opera: 50th Anniversary Reopening Concert.” Performers include Placido Domingo, Bryn Terfel and Thomas Hampson in selections by Beethoven, Verdi and Mozart. Among those offering WWII memories is Elisabeth Schwarzkopf. Highlights include Domingo and Agnes Balta's Act 4 duet from “Aida”; Terfel's Hans Sachs' Monolog; Hampson's Champagne Aria (“Don Giovanni”). Zubin Mehta is among the conductors of the Vienna State Opera Orchestra and Chorus. Taped in November 2005.

“Mozart at 250: The Salzburg Festival Celebration.” Baritone Thomas Hampson and soprano Anna Netrebko are among the performers, with Daniel Harding conducting the Vienna Philharmonic. Also appearing: bass Rene Pape, sopranos Patricia Petibon and Ekaterina Siurina, mezzo-soprano Magdalena Kozena and tenor Michael Schade. Highlights include “Rivolgete,” from Cosi fan tutte (Hampson); and the Act 3 Elettra aria from Idomeneo (Netrebko). Included: a tour of the city.

Season 34 starts with “Carnegie Hall Opening Night 2006.” Bass-baritone Thomas Quasthoff and pianist Leif Ove Andsnes join conductor Franz Welser-Möst and the Cleveland Orchestra. Quasthoff performs songs from Mahler's “Des Knaben Wunderhorn”; Andsnes plays Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 17. The orchestra also plays works by Johann Strauss and Franz von Suppé (including Suppé's “Light Cavalry Overture”). Paula Zahn hosts

“A Tribute to James Taylor.” Performers include Taylor, Bruce Springsteen, Carole King, Sting, Bonnie Raitt, the Dixie Chicks, Indie.Arie, Jackson Browne, David Crosby, Sheryl Crow, Dr. John, Taj Mahal, Alison Krauss, Jerry Douglas, Keith Urban and Cheech Marin. Among the selections: “Rainy Day Man” (Raitt); “You Can Close Your Eyes” (Sting); “Millworker” (Springsteen); “You've Got a Friend” (King, Taylor); “Fire and Rain” (Taylor). Taped Feb. 6, 2006, at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

“Beverly Sills: Made in America” is a delightful look at the coloratura soprano's career. “Mine was the American dream for the opera singer,” says Sills (1929-2007), who's shown in scenes from operas, TV and talk shows. Included: arias from “Manon,” “The Merry Widow” and other operas. Clips with Johnny Carson, Dick Frost, Merv Griffin, Dinah Shore, Danny Kaye, Carol Burnett, Dean Martin, Lily Tomlin and the Muppets. Also: Sills singing in a 1936 film short. Introduction by Barbara Walters.

“Garrison Keillor's New Year's Eve Special.” The humorist hosts a program featuring Emmylou Harris, Rhonda Vincent and the Rage, Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver, fiddler Stuart Duncan, guitarist Buddy Emmons. Also: “Prairie Home Companion” regulars Fred Newman and Rich Dworsky. From Nashville's Ryman Auditorium.

“From Vienna: The New Year's Celebration 2007”: Zubin Mehta conducts the Vienna Philharmonic in music mostly by Johann Strauss. Included: “Blue Danube Waltz” (danced by Lucia Lacarra and Cyril Pierre), the “Waldmeister” Overture, “Where the Lemons Bloom Waltz,” “City and Country Polka,” “Mysterious Powers of Magnetism” (with dancers at the Palace Hof), “Irene Polka”, “Sailors Polka” and “Radetzky March.” Hosted by Walter Cronkite. From the Musikverein concert hall.

“Sting: Songs From the Labyrinth” features the works of composer John Dowland (1563-1626) performed by Sting and lute player Edin Karamazov. Included: “Come Again,” “Flow My Tears,” “Can She Excuse My Wrongs?” and “In Darkness Let Me Dwell.” Also: comments from guitarist Anthony Rooley and rock keyboardist David Pinto.

Folksinger Loreena McKennitt performs at the Alhambra Palace in Granada, Spain. Songs include “Bonny Portmore” and “The Mummers' Dance.”

Rock legend Jerry Lee Lewis performs with Solomon Burke, John Fogerty, Buddy Guy, Merle Haggard, Don Henley, Chris Isaak, Nora Jones and Tom Jones. Also appearing: Willie Nelson, Ivan Neville, Kid Rock and Ron Wood. Songs include “Your Cheatin' Heart,” “Great Balls of Fire,” “Honky Tonk Woman,” “Green Green Grass of Home” and “Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On'.”

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A tribute to jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald (1917-96) includes performances by Stevie Wonder, Patti Austin, Natalie Cole, Quincy Jones, Ruben Studdard, Nancy Wilson, Ledisi, Take 6, George Duke, Jon Faddis, Dave Koz, Monica Mancini, James Moody, Lizz Wright, and the USC Thornton Symphony and Jazz Orchestra.

Dance routines by black choreographers are highlighted in “Dance in America: Dancing in the Light.” Included: “Ostrich,” by Asadata Dafora; and “Barrelhouse Blues,” by Katherine Dunham. Also: “Strange Fruit,” by Pearl Primus; “Mourner's Bench,” by Talley Beatty; “Rainbow 'Round My Shoulder,” by Donald McKayle; and “D-Man in the Waters,” by Bill T. Jones. Hosted by Taye Diggs.

Dance routines by black choreographers are highlighted in “Dance in America: Dancing in the Light.” Included: “Ostrich,” by Asadata Dafora; and “Barrelhouse Blues,” by Katherine Dunham. Also: “Strange Fruit,” by Pearl Primus; “Mourner's Bench,” by Talley Beatty; “Rainbow 'Round My Shoulder,” by Donald McKayle; and “D-Man in the Waters,” by Bill T. Jones. Hosted by Taye Diggs.

Singer-songwriter Lionel Richie performs at Bercy Arena in Paris. The Commodores alum numbers include “Hello,” “Easy,” “All Night Long,” “Three Times a Lady” and “Dancing on the Ceiling.”

A profile of ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev (1938-93), focusing on his life prior to his defection from the Soviet Union in 1961 while traveling with the Kirov Ballet in France. Included: performance footage; comments from choreographer Pierre Lacotte, Cuban dance teacher Menia Martinez, and ballerinas Ninel Kurgapkina and Ghislaine Thesmar

Eric Clapton headlines a Chicago concert in Toyota Park to benefit the Crossroads Centre at Antigua, a substance-abuse treatment and education facility.

Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht's opera “Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny,” featuring Audra McDonald, Patti LuPone and Anthony Dean. James Conlon conducts.

Conductor Georges Pretre leads the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra as they perform selections from composer Johann Strauss. Also: visits to the Albertina Museum, the Spanish Riding School, and a park located near Karlskirche Church.

A bachelor celebrates his 35th birthday allong with five couples in the musical "Company." Included songs: "Being Alive," "Another Hundred People" and "The Ladies Who Lunch."

The New York Philharmonic, conducted by Lorin Maazel, performs at the East Pyongyang Grand Theater in North Korea. Included are selections by Antonin Dvorak, Richard Wagner and George Gershwin. Journalist Bob Woodruff provides coverage.

Stop animation is used to tell Sergei Prokofiev's classic tale.

Primo, a one-man play recalls a man's experiences in the Auschwitz prison camp towards the end of World War II. Based on the book, Survival in Auschwitz, by Primo Levi.

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Valery Gergiev and the Vienna Philharmonic perform selections by Franz Lizst, Niccolo Paganini, Modest Mussorgsky and Johann Strauss II at Vienna's Schönbrunn Palace Gardens. Included: Liszt's "Les Preludes"; Paganini's Violin Concerto No. 1 in D major, 1st Movement; Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition"; Strauss' Wiener Blut, Walzer, op. 354.

Source: PBS

Alan Gilbert leads the New York Philharmonic, soprano Dorothea Röschmann, mezzo-soprano Michelle DeYoung and the New York Choral Artists in a performance of Mahler's Symphony No. 2, Resurrection, in a concert marking the 10th anniversary of 9/11. From Avery Fisher Hall at New York's Lincoln Center.

Source: PBS

Placido Domingo reminisces about his favorite roles in this retrospective. The documentary, which also features his reflections on his childhood, includes his turn as Don Jose in "Carmen" at the Vienna Staatsoper; and performance in "El Gato Montes" from the L.A. Opera. Also: "Ernani" and "I Pagliacci" from La Scala in Milan; "La Gioconda" from the Vienna State Opera; "Luisa Miller" and "Simon Boccanegra" from the Metropolitan Opera; and "Samson and Dalila" from the San Francisco Opera.

Source: PBS

Hugh Laurie explores the rich musical traditions of New Orleans through a tour of the city and performances of a wide variety of tunes, including with Crescent City legends Allen Toussaint and Irma Thomas; and Welsh singer Tom Jones. Included: "Swanee River"; "You Don't Know My Mind"; "John Henry" (with Thomas); "St. James Infirmary"; "Buddy Bolden's Blues"; "Baby Please Make a Change" (with Jones and Thomas); "Let Them Talk"; "Tipitina."

Source: PBS

This production of Donizetti's comedic "Fille du Régiment," features coloratura soprano Natalie Dessay stars as Marie, an orphan adopted by French troops, in an updated setting from the Napoleonic era to World War I.

A special remembrance of opera singer Luciano Pavarotti, through the use of concert footage and interviews with his friends and colleagues, including including tenors José Carreras and Plácido Domingo, plus singers Joan Sutherland, Montserrat Caballé, Renata Scotto and Juan Diego Flórez.

Leonard Bernstein's musical legacy is celebrated by conductor Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Fransisco Symphony, opera singers Dawn Upshaw and Thomas Hampson, cellist Yo-Yo Ma and Broadway's Christine Ebersole.

Kristi Yamaguchi introduces tonight's performance of Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker, by the San Fransisco Ballet. The production comes to us from the Panama Pacific International Exhibition.

The John Adams opera Doctor Atomic, is about physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer's testing of the Atomic bomb in New Mexico back in 1945.

The Vienna Philharmonic, lead by Daniel Barenboim, perform a variety of waltzes, marches and polkas, including Johann Strauss' "Blue Danube" waltz, "Thunder and Lightning" polka, and the "Gypsy Baron" overture. Also, Hayden's "Symphony 45, Fourth Movement" Joseph Hellmesberger's "Spanish Dance" and Johann Strauss Sr.'s "Zampa Gallop."

From the Richard Rodgers Theater in New york City, Cyrano has unrequited love for a beautiful cousin named Roxanne, but feels unworthy of her because of his enormous nose. Cyrano writes poems for his love and asks his friend Christian to act as his double as he feeds him the lines, to try and win her heart.

The Royal Shakespeare Company's rendition of King Lear, which features a monarch who makes plans to divide his kingdom between his three daughters, but leads to tragedy.

Geatano Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor is a tragic opera in which a young woman is forced to marry a nobleman by her brother, despite being in love with another man.

A look at the 2008 Tony Award-winning musical "In the Heights,' from pre-production to it's success on Broadway, featuring profiles and performance sequences of Lin-Manuel Miranda, the composer-lyricist and star, along with the rest with the cast.

From the Royal Albert Hall in London, the 2008 revival musical "Chess," using melodies from Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus of ABBA fame, and Tim Rice lyrics, which tells the story of American and Russian chess players and the woman they both love.

From the Metropolitan Opera House in New York, a performance of Rossini's adaption of "Cinderella," La Cenerentola, stars mezzo-soprano Elina Goranca in the lead role and tenor Lawrence Brownlee as her Prince Charming.

The story of the jazz age in Paris, as narrated by S. Epatha Merkerson, which began to flourish between WWI and WWII, after some black servicemen remained behind in Europe instead of going back to a segregated America.

Classical music conductor Herbert Von Karajan (1908-1989) is profiled, who for 35 years had led the Berlin Philharmonic, worked with the Vienna Philharmonic and served as artistic director for the Vienna State Opera.

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Great Performances looks at Passing Strange, the Spike Lee-directed film featuring the award-winning Broadway rock musical of the same title.

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Season 7 opens with Gaetano Donizetti's comic opera "L'Elisir d'Amore," about a peasant (Matthew Polenzani) who wins the heart of a beautiful farm owner (Anna Netrebko) with the help of a love potion he purchased from a quack doctor (Ambrogio Maestri).

Source: PBS

Edward Villella's Miami City Ballet performs George Balanchine's "Square Dance" (music by Antonio Vivaldi and Arcangelo Corelli) and "Western Symphony" (music by Hershy Kay); and Twyla Tharp's "The Golden Section" (music by David Byrne). Andy Garcia hosts.

Source: PBS

Placido Domingo stars in composer Daniel Catán's "Il Postino," an opera based on the Academy Award-winning Italian film. Host: Linda Ronstadt.

Source: PBS

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Tenor Andrea Bocelli performs with the New York Philharmonic in New York's Central Park, where he's joined by Céline Dion; Tony Bennett; Chris Botti; David Foster; sopranos Ana María Martínez and Pretty Yende; bass baritone Bryn Terfel; violinist Nicola Benedetti; flutist Andrea Griminelli; and the Westminster Symphonic Choir. Selections include "La donna e mobile" from "Rigoletto"; "Ave Maria (Ellens dritter Gesang)"; "'O Sole Mio"; "Once Upon a Time in the West"; "Volare"; and "Amazing Grace."

Source: PBS

The Vienna Philharmonic and Vienna Boys' Choir celebrate the New Year with a concert of Strauss family favorites at Vienna's Musikverein. Conductor: Mariss Jansons. Host: Julie Andrews.

Source: PBS

An all-Gershwin gala with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, under the baton of Gustavo Dudamel, and jazz pianist Herbie Hancock. The orchestra performs "Rhapsody in Blue" and "An American in Paris"; Hancock performs "Someone to Watch Over Me." From Walt Disney Concert Hall in L.A.

Source: PBS

Anna Deavere Smith performs "Let Me Down Easy," her one-woman show in which she explores health issues through the experiences of real-life individuals (some famous, some not).

Source: PBS

The making of Tony Bennett's 2011 chart-topping "Duets II" album, which features some of his greatest hits recast as duets with various singers, is documented. The sessions include "Body and Soul" with Amy Winehouse; "The Lady Is a Tramp" with Lady Gaga; "How Do You Keep the Music Playing" with Aretha Franklin; "Stranger in Paradise" with Andrea Bocelli; "Don't Get Around Much Anymore" with Michael Bublé; "Speak Low" with Norah Jones; and "On the Sunny Side of the Street" with Willie Nelson.

Source: PBS

A performance of the Tony Award-winning musical "Memphis," about a white high-school dropout in 1950s Tennessee who becomes a disc jockey in order to promote the music of a black singer he's fallen for.

Source: PBS

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Under the baton of Michael Tilson Thomas, the San Francisco Symphony marks its centennial season with an opening-night gala at Davies Symphony Hall, which features violinist Itzhak Perlman on Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in E minor and pianist Lang Lang on Liszt's Piano Concerto No. 1 in E flat major. Interspersed throughout are historical documentaries about the symphony that are narrated by author Amy Tan, who also hosts.

Source: PBS

James Taylor, Yo-Yo Ma, pianists Emanuel Ax and Peter Serkin, violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter, the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Boston Pops Orchestra perform at the 75th anniversary celebration of the Tanglewood Music Festival in western Massachusetts, which also features the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra and Tanglewood Festival Chorus. Included: Copland's "Fanfare for the Common Man"; Ravel's "La Valse"; Beethoven's Choral Fantasy; and "Over the Rainbow," "Shall We Dance" and "Old Man River."

Source: PBS

Twelve-year-old classical crossover prodigy Jackie Evancho sings movie songs at the Orpheum Theatre in L.A., including "Can You Feel the Love Tonight," "My Heart Will Go On," "Pure Imagination," "Some Enchanted Evening" and "What a Wonderful World." Other selections include "Come What May," "I See the Light," "The Music of the Night," "Reflection," "The Summer Knows" and "When I Fall in Love."

Source: PBS

The Vienna Philharmonic, under the baton of Gustavo Dudamel, perform their traditional open-air concert at Austria's Schönbrunn Palace Gardens. The program, which features a "Dances and Waves" theme, includes dancers from the Vienna State Opera Ballet; and selections from Tchaikovsky, Borodin, Debussy, Richard Strauss, Amilcare Ponchielli, Gerónimo Giménez and Johann Strauss II.

Source: PBS

Filmmaker Susan Froemke examines the challenges that director Robert Lepage and the Metropolitan Opera faced in mounting a production of Richard Wagner's "Ring" cycle.

Source: PBS

The first opera in Richard Wagner's "Ring" cycle, about a power struggle between gods and mortals over a magic ring, begins with the evil dwarf Alberich (Eric Owens) forging a ring of unimaginable power from gold pilfered from the Rhine. When it's stolen by Wotan (Bryn Terfel), the king of the gods, Alberich curses it so that it brings misery to whoever wears it.

Source: PBS

The second opera in Richard Wagner's "Ring" cycle finds a traveler seeking shelter at the home of a warrior and his wife. When Brünnhilde, the daughter of the god Wotan, intervenes in the earthly affairs that follow, Wotan has little choice but to punish his daughter for her transgression.

Source: PBS

Wagner's "Siegfried," the third work in his epic "Ring of the Nibelung" cycle, is performed in its entirety (with English subtitles). As the tale opens, Siegfried (tenor Manfred Jung) prepares to confront the giant Fafner (baritone Fritz Hubner). Mime: Heinz Zednick. Brunnhilde: Gwyneth Jones. Wanderer/Wotan: Donald McIntyre.

Source: PBS

In the final installment in Richard Wagner's "Ring" cycle, the love between Siegfried and Brünnhilde is torn asunder by a trio of scheming humans who want the magical ring for themselves.

Source: PBS

Paul McCartney performs songs from his 2012 "Kisses on the Bottom" album of pop standards at Capitol Studios in L.A., where he's joined by Diana Krall and Joe Walsh. Included: "Home"; "More I Cannot Wish You"; "Always"; "Bye Bye Blackbird"; "I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter"; "The Glory of Love"; "Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive"; and the original "My Valentine." Interspersed are interview segments with McCartney and "Kisses" collaborators Eric Clapton, Stevie Wonder and Krall.

Source: PBS

Grammy Award-winning, two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Rod Stewart, hosts his first holiday special. The legendary rocker performs classic songs from "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" to "Auld Lang Syne". Includes duets with Michael Buble, Cee-Lo Green, Mary J. Blige, and Ella Fitzgerald.

Previously unseen footage and remarks from Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr accent this look at the Beatles' "Magical Mystery Tour" movie, which was panned upon its 1967 BBC premiere but, in the years since, has come to be viewed as a flawed masterpiece by some. Also commenting: Martin Scorsese; Peter Fonda; Terry Gilliam; and Neil Innes.

Source: PBS

The Beatles' Merry Pranksters-inspired "Magical Mystery Tour," fully restored and featuring a remixed soundtrack that includes the title song, "The Fool on the Hill," "Flying," "I Am the Walrus," "Blue Jay Way" and "Your Mother Should Know." The loose, unscripted story finds the Fab Four and friends setting off on a bus trip through the British countryside; and contains silliness, dream sequences and, of course, musical interludes.

Source: PBS

Stage and screen legend Julie Andrews returns for the fourth time to host the festive annual New Year’s celebration with the Vienna Philharmonic, under the direction of Franz Welser-Möst from Vienna’s Musikverein. This is Welser-Möst’s second time at the podium of this much cherished event; the last was 2011. From Vienna: The New Year’s Celebration 2013, featuring the infectious melodies of the Strauss Family and contemporaries.

The venerable concert is the largest worldwide event in classical music reaching over a
billion people annually through radio and television in 72 countries. The Vienna Philharmonic’s traditional New Year’s program has showcased Viennese musical culture at the highest level, and since the first television broadcast in 1959, sent the world a New Year's greeting in the spirit of hope, friendship and peace. The telecast has been a public television tradition on PBS since 1985.

From Yiddishkeit” (all things Jewish) on the stages of the Lower East Side to a wide range of shows including "Porgy and Bess", "West Side Story" and "Cabaret", "Broadway Musicals: A Jewish Legacy" explores how Jewish music played a key role in many of America’s favorite musicals. The film, narrated by Joel Grey, explores the phenomenon of how Jewish songwriters created a uniquely American art form and explores the unique role of Jewish composers and lyricists in the creation of the modern American musical. Features interviews and conversations with some of the greatest composers and writers of the Broadway stage, and showcases the work of some of America's pre-eminent creators of musical theatre. Though these remarkable songwriters were purveyors of what we think of today as the Broadway sound, the documentary demonstrates how there were echoes of Jewish strains in many of the works.

The making of Paul Simon's 1986 "Graceland" album is recalled in this documentary, which accompanies the singer-songwriter on a visit to South Africa, where he reunites with some of the musicians involved in the recording. The album has sold more than 14 million copies and is considered one of the touchstone recordings of its time, yet the success and acclaim did not come without controversy: Simon was criticized for breaking a cultural boycott then in place against apartheid-era South Africa.

Source: PBS

The Italian fishing village of Portofino, Italy is famous for its picturesque harbor and frequent celebrity visitors. For "Great Performances", it is the setting for international superstar tenor Andrea Bocelli to once again delight fans with a new concert special. With Andrea Bocelli: Love in Portofino, he puts classical music aside for an evening of international favorites inspired by the breathtaking coastal setting.

Great Performances presents two of Paul Taylor’s masterworks: "Brandenburgs" and "Beloved Renegade". "Brandenburgs" is one of Taylor’s magnificent collection of works set to music by a master of the baroque. The dance’s exuberance matches the ferocious energy of Bach’s spirited concertos. "Beloved Renegade" is set to Francis Poulenc’s “Gloria.” The dance was inspired by the life and work of 19th Century American writer Walt Whitman, who revered the body and soul as one and who famously loved all with equal ardor. The dances were recorded last year at the Théâtre National de Chaillot during the Festival Les Étes de la Danse 2012; where the company dazzled audiences. The engagement in Paris marks The Company’s 50th Anniversary of its first appearance there in 1962.