Great Performances (1971)
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.
| Type | TV series |
|---|---|
| First aired | 28 January 1971 |
| Status | Returning Series |
| Genre | Comedy, Documentary, Drama |
| Starring | Bray Poor |
| Seasons | 54 seasons, 725 episodes |
| Episode length | about 160 min |
| Time to watch it all | about 1933 hours |
| Rated | TV-G |
| Scores | TMDB users 6.1/10 |
Where to watch Great Performances
We could not find Great Performances on any of the subscription services we track in the US right now. That changes often; open it in Binge Boss and we will show you where it lands.
What kind of watch this is
Great Performances is a 1971 series that treats the stage as a living room. It presents classical music, opera, and drama as they were meant to be seen, not as highlights. With 54 seasons and 725 episodes, it accumulates 1,933 hours of viewing. That is a lot of time to spend in the dark, watching people sing.
What the critics said
Critics generally liked what they saw. Roger Catlin of the Hartford Courant called it "The classiest thing on TV". That is high praise, or at least a very polite one. Ryan Berenz of Channel Guide Magazine noted that Annie Lennox "brings the house down". Linda Winer of Newsday found the Billy Elliot episode "As good as it gets". Melanie McFarland of Salon.com described Hamilton's America as "Enthralling [and] uplifting". Marissa Martinelli of Slate called An American in Paris "spectacular".
How it did with audiences
The box office numbers are missing from the record, so the only metric left is the audience score. On TMDB, users rate it 6.1 out of 10. That is a solid, if unglamorous, mark. It suggests people watched it, thought about it, and decided it was fine. No one is writing essays about it. No one is burning their house down. It sits in the middle of the pack, doing exactly what a middle-of-the-pack film should do.
If you liked this
TMDB's recommendations for people who watched Great Performances.
Sources
- Great Performances on TMDB — synopsis, cast, ratings and recommendations
- Wikidata Q5599745 — review scores, box office and awards (CC0)
- “Great Performances” on Wikipedia, by its contributors (history) — reception, audience figures and legacy, summarised and adapted here under CC BY-SA 4.0
- Where to watch and prices: Binge Boss, from TMDB watch-provider data (powered by JustWatch) and our own provider list
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