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Rigoletto Set in 1960s Las Vegas

Great Performances at the Met, Friday, May 17, 2013 at 9pm.

Tony Award-winning director Michael Mayer (Spring Awakening) makes his Met debut with a new production of Verdi’s Rigoletto. The new staging moves the opera’s tragic events from a decadent 16th-century Italian court to the glitzy, depraved setting of the Las Vegas strip circa 1960. Polish tenor Piotr Beczala sings the Duke, an amoral lounge singer whose entourage includes the world-weary comedian Rigoletto, sung by Serbian baritone Željko Lučić. German soprano Diana Damrau sings the role of the innocent Gilda, Rigoletto’s daughter and the victim of the predatory Duke. Michele Mariotti conducts his first company performances of the Verdi masterwork, which features one of the most famous arias in all of opera, “La donna è mobile.”

Great Performances at the Met: Rigoletto, Friday, May 17, 2013 at 9pm.

Watch Rigoletto: Act 1 Duet on PBS. See more from Great Performances.

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Wagner’s Ring Cycle

The complete Ring Cycle airs Monday, September 10 - Friday, September 14, 2012 beginning at 8pm each night on <strong>KCPT2</strong>.

Robert Lepage’s acclaimed new production of Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen is preceded by the broadcast of award-winning filmmaker Susan Froemke’s documentary “Wagner’s Dream,” which chronicles the backstage story of the creation of this ambitious new staging of the cycle. This is the third time a complete Ring cycle has aired on PBS. In 1983, GREAT PERFORMANCES aired Patrice Chereau’s production of the Ring conducted by Pierre Boulez from the Bayreuth Festival, and in 1990, LIVE FROM THE MET (the precursor of GREAT PERFORMANCES AT THE MET) presented Otto Schenk’s Metropolitan Opera production, conducted by James Levine.

“Wagner’s Dream” Monday, September 10, 2012, 8pm

“Das Rheingold (The Rhine Gold)” Tuesday, September 11, 2012, 8pm

“Die Walkure (The Valkyrie)” Wednesday, September 12, 2012, 8pm

“Seigfried” Thursday, September 13, 2012, 8pm

“Gotterdammerung (Twilight of the Gods)” Friday, September 14, 2012, 8pm

The stakes could not be higher as visionary director Robert Lepage, several of the world’s greatest operatic artists and the Metropolitan Opera tackle Wagner’s Ring cycle. An intimate look at the enormous theatrical and musical challenges of staging opera’s most monumental work, Susan Froemke’s documentary chronicles the quest to fulfill Wagner’s dream of a perfect Ring.

The complete Ring Cycle airs Monday, September 10 – Friday, September 14, 2012 beginning at 8pm each night on KCPT2.

Watch Sneak Peek: Wagner’s Dream on PBS. See more from Great Performances.

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Paul McCartney’s Live Kisses

An intimate concert recorded at the historic Capitol Studios in Los Angeles. Watch Great Performances Friday, September 7, 2012 at 9pm.

Paul McCartney, at the forefront of the rock ‘n’ roll revolution that changed popular music forever in his early career with the Beatles, has continued to push boundaries for more than 40 years as a solo artist, a member of his second group, Wings, and an award-winning composer for classical music and dance. His latest venture is Kisses on the Bottom, a collection of standards beloved by McCartney since childhood, along with two of his own new songs, “My Valentine” and “Only Our Hearts.” Produced with the help of Grammy Award-winning producer Tommy LiPuma and singer Diana Krall and her band, Kisses on the Bottom is the first record in McCartney’s historic oeuvre to feature him almost exclusively on vocals. GREAT PERFORMANCES joins McCartney for an intimate concert recorded at the historic Capitol Studios in Los Angeles, featuring performances of such standards as “I’m Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter,” “It’s Only a Paper Moon,” “Always,” “Bye Bye Blackbird” and more.

Watch Great Performances Friday, September 7, 2012 at 9pm.

Watch Paul McCartney’s Live Kisses Preview on PBS. See more from Great Performances.

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Vienna Philharmonic Summer Night 2012

Join Gustavo Dudamel and the Vienna Philharmonic in the magnificent gardens of Schönbrunn Palace. Watch Friday, August 31, 2012 at 9pm.

Join distinguished conductor Gustavo Dudamel as he leads the fourth annual Vienna Philharmonic Summer Night 2012 concert and the renowned Vienna Philharmonic under the stars in the magnificent gardens of Austria’s Imperial Schönbrunn Palace. Vienna Ballet dancers join the orchestra in celebration of the world of dance in music by Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky and Richard Strauss. The concert also features performances of Debussy’s “La Mer” and the Austrian favorite “Wiener Blut” (“Viennese Blood”) by waltz king Johann Strauss.

Watch Friday, August 31, 2012 at 9pm.

Watch Vienna Philharmonic Summer Night 2012 Preview on PBS. See more from Great Performances.

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