Kirk Browning

A stage presentation of John Steinbeck's "The Grapes of Wrath". The Steppenwolf Theater Company's production featuring the original Broadway cast. Desperately proud, but reduced to poverty by the loss of their farm, the Joads pile their few possessions on a battered old truck and head west for California, hoping to find work and a better life. Led by the indomitable Ma Joad, who is determined to keep the family together at any cost, and by the volatile young Tom Joad, an ex-convict who grows increasingly impatient with the intolerance and exploitation that they encounter on their trek, the Joads must deal with death and terrible deprivation before reaching their destination—where their waning hopes are dealt a final blow by the stark realities of the Great Depression.

In 1960 CBS commissioned renowned composer Igor Stravinsky to compose a new ballet composition, Noah and the Flood, that would be adapted for a TV special. The ballet told the story of Noah and the Flood with symbolic references to other biblical narratives. The choreography was directed by George Balanchine and the ballet was performed by the New York City Ballet. An addition to the performance the TV special also included an overview of Stravinsky’s career and an exposition of the biblical context. The performance was aired on CBS in 1962 with Breck shampoo as the sponsor, as part of the Breck Golden Showcase series.

A man from a family of rich snobs becomes engaged to a woman from a good-natured but decidedly eccentric family.

Antony and Cleopatra is an opera in three acts by American composer Samuel Barber. The libretto was prepared by Franco Zeffirelli. After an unsuccessful premiere, the opera was extensively revised, 9 years later, by Barber and Gian Carlo Menotti.

Performed at the Lincoln Center. Conducted by Sarah Caldwell. The staging and costuming explicitly telegraphed the characters. For example, Rosina (Beverly Sills) has a gown with feathers and her room resembles a birdcage complete with a swing, telegraphing her as being confined like a bird.. Figaro (Alan Titus) looks like a barber pole, while the notary (Michael Rubino) has an inkwell on his hat. Dr. Bartolo (Donald Gramm) wears two pillars that are cracked after his plans to marry Rosina are thwarted. Tenor Henry Price as Almaviva sports books in his disguise as a student.

The classic Disney animated feature is performed as a live stage show at the Radio City Music Hall.

In a sun-dappled garden in provincial Russia in 1905, some factory owners and their wives discuss the unrest among the workers. Rather than submit to a strike, they decide to close down the factory. When an owner is slain in a scuffle with a workman, the ensuing investigation uncovers the socialist fervor that is sweeping the countryside.

A record of McKellen's one-man Broadway show about the Bard.

Russell B. Parker, a former vaudeville hoofer, is a man of big dreams but small ambitions. He hardly works at all in fact, often spending the time incessantly playing checkers with his friend, William Jenkins. Parker lives with Theopolis and Bobby, his two unemployed sons, and Adele, his hard-working daughter. The ghost of his dead wife, a woman who drove herself into an early grave working to support the family, nags at his conscience.

William Saroyan's Pulitzer Prize-winning play revolves around the denizens of a San Francisco bar in 1939. Lonely, lovelorn, weary or cynical, the characters drift in and out of the bar and each other's lives, giving voice to Saroyan's philosophies as they randomly comment about the impending world war, the beauty of art, and traditional notions of good and evil. At least one of the relationships stands a chance of enduring: a brawny innocent named Tom is falling in love with a vulnerable young prostitute named Kitty. Saroyan himself is heard reciting the play's prologue.

George S. Kaufman and Edna Ferber collaborated on this 1927 hit comedy about an eminent and slightly eccentric theatrical clan. A Barrymore-like brood, the Cavendishes are as flamboyant offstage as they are on. Their real-life family drama occurs in a Manhattan apartment when the grand matriarch, Fanny Cavendish, learns that her daughter and granddaughter may both be giving up the stage for marriage. Theatre legends Rosemary Harris, Eva LeGallienne, Sam Levene and Ellis Rabb have great fun portraying characters they know all too well from their years on stage.

This classic American play, performed on an almost-bare stage, is about the mundane but rather pleasant lives of the Gibbs family, the Webb family, and their neighbors in Grover's Corners, New Hampshire, early in the 20th century.

San Francisco's prize-winning American Conservatory Theater's rowdy commedia dell'arte production incorporates slapstick, pratfall and earthy humor into William Shakespeare's comedy about the two unmarried daughters of a wealthy Italian merchant. While daughter Bianca is genteel and popular, daughter Kate is foul-tempered and strong-willed. No one dares to marry Kate, until Petruchio arrives in Padua and tries his hand at courtship.

Willy Loman, an aging, failing salesman, struggles to accept reality and his failure to achieve the American Dream.

From the elaborate Broadway revival of the 1932 Eva Le Gallienne/Florida Friebus production comes a whimsical retelling of the Lewis Carroll classic.

A Victor Hugo play, haunting and scandalous, provided the inspiration for Verdi’s mid-career masterpiece. A vengeful but misguided court jester strives to save his daughter from a duke’s licentious clutches, but can't part with the feeling that a curse looms over all of his actions. In Rigoletto, the composer introduces several of his most iconic arias and duets—as well as an 11th-hour quartet that counts among the finest moments in opera.

Cornelius "Con" Melody is an Irish tavern keeper in New England who lives in reverence of his former days as a nobleman and decorated officer in the British army during the Napoleonic wars. Impoverished now, he struts about in his uniform and plots to make money by manipulating the love of his daughter for the son of a wealthy manufacturer. His daughter sees through his façade and his chicanery and begins to plot for herself.

The Franco Zeffirelli production of Puccini's "Turandot", recorded live at the Metropolitan Opera in April, 1987. Éva Marton stars as Turandot, with Plácido Domingo as Calaf, Leona Mitchell as Liù, Paul Plishka as Timur, and Hugues Cuenod as L'Imperatore Altoum. James Levine conducts.

Leonora plans to elope with Don Alvaro, but he accidentally shoots and kills her father, who curses them as he dies. The lovers go on the run, but get separated. Bent on revenge, Leonora's brother Don Carlo, hunts them down. Verdi painted an immense canvas with this dark but tuneful opera, vividly brought to life in John Dexter’s production, with sets by the great Eugene Berman. The legendary Leontyne Price is seen in one of her greatest roles, Leonora. Price’s soaring voice encompasses every nuance of Leonora’s emotion as she moves from joy through resignation to ultimate heartbreak. James Levine’s brilliant leading of the Met orchestra and chorus is a lesson in Verdi style. Giuseppe Giacomini is Alvaro, the man Leonora loves, and Leo Nucci is Don Carlo, the dark instrument of their Fate.

Mayerling is the name of a notorious Austrian village linked to a romantic tragedy. At a royal hunting lodge there, in 1889, Crown Prince Rudolf--desperate over his father's command to put away his teenage mistress, the Baroness Marie Vetsera--shot her to death and killed himself. The misfortune may indeed have been a murder-suicide, but perhaps it was a political assassination, or even the result of a lunatic family vendetta: scholarship is still catching up with the facts.

The Metropolitan Opera performance of L'Elisir d'Amore is conducted by Nicola Rescigno and features Luciano Pavarotti in the title role. Donizetti's graceful melodies have long endeared his L'Elisir d'Amore to operatic audiences and performers alike. Judith Blegen, Louise Wohlafka, Luciano Pavarotti, Nicola Rescigno, Sesto Bruscantini.

Don Carlo (1980) Metropolitan Opera. Verdi / italian. King Philip's court is plagued by rebels, family squabbles and intrigue. The Spanish Inquisition tries to exert its influence. The tension finally ignites at the King's coronation, where heretics are to be burned at the stake

Live performance from the Metropolitan Opera, 31 December 1986.

This John Dexter production, designed by Desmond Heeley, was a parting gift to the great American soprano Beverly Sills, who bid farewell to the Met as Norina, the smart young widow at the center of Donizetti’s comedy. The sensational Alfredo Kraus sings her beloved Ernesto. Håkan Hagegård, in his Met debut role and season, is Dr. Malatesta, the man who helps the young couple trick the crusty old bachelor of the title (Gabriel Bacquier at his comical best) into a fake marriage. This being a Donizetti comedy, it all turns out perfectly well at the end—and getting there is pure operatic fun.

Opera royalty Luciano Pavarotti brings dignity and power to the title role in this 1982 production. During a squall at sea, Idomeneo -- the king of Crete -- swears to Neptune that if the monarch survives, he'll sacrifice the first person he encounters onshore. Tragically, that person ends up being his son, Idamante (Frederica Von Stade). Maestro James Levine masterfully conducts the orchestra and chorus of the Metropolitan Opera. A musical production that was designed for the "Live From the Met" series, this program was produced by Jean-Pierre Ponnelle.

Inspired by Ingmar Bergman's Smiles of a Summer Night, a tangled web of affairs is weaved around actress Desirée Armfeldt and the men who love her: lawyer Fredrik Egerman and Count Carl-Magnus Malcom. When Desirée's show travels through Fredrik's town, the estranged lovers' passion rekindles.

Candide falls in love with the beautiful but materialistic Cunegonde. Her barron father doesn't approve of the affair so Candide wanders, meeting all the misfortunes along the way.

Beverly Sills in supremely confident form, vocally and histrionically in Donizetti’s famous opera, with a brilliant supporting cast that includes tenor William McDonald, Spiro Malas and Muriel Costa-Greenspon, led by Maestro Charles Wendelken-Wilson.

Donald Moffat stars in Moliere's classic comedy about lovable scoundrel Tartuffe, who befriends the wealthy Orgon and then attempts to seduce both his new friend's wife and daughter in this TV presentation from the Broadway Theatre Archive. Tartuffe pretends to be a pious man whose faith convinces Orgon and his family to succumb to his influence, but he's undone when his womanizing ways make it clear that his piety is a charade.

Verdi's early masterpiece is based on a Victor Hugo play with a complicated plot concerning a young woman and the three men vying for her affections—her elderly uncle, a king destined to become Holy Roman Emperor, and a bandit who is actually an overthrown nobleman. Though there is plenty of action arising from the various passions and grudges scattered among these characters, the opera is best appreciated as a feast of beautiful and dramatic Italianate singing. With virtuosic roles for a quartet of principals, the opera delivers one feat of heroic vocalism after another.

The Metropolitan Opera's performance of "Hansel and Gretel" features music by Engelbert Humperdinck and is conducted by Thomas Fulton. The Met's storybook production cheerfully evokes a magic world of woodland sprites and candy dreams and yet brings as well the entire apparatus of Wagnerian music and drama to bear on a German fairy tale. This production is sung in English, and features the Metropolitan Opera, Chorus, and Ballet.

Plácido Domingo accomplishes the rare feat of singing both leads on the same night at the Met in 1978 on opera's most popular double-bill.

A trio of operas in three short stories - the first a gruesome murder melodrama, the second is a passionate tearjerker, and the third is a dark comedy of death and an inheritance. Each story is strikingly different from the preceding one.

The classic opera is brought to life by Beverly Sills.

One night in Judea, a disabled shepherd boy-turned-beggar and his mother are visited by three strangers. They are the Three Kings, and they are on their way to Bethlehem to visit the Christ Child, who has just been born.

A destitute, crippled child and his mother are visited late one night by three traveling strangers who claim to be following a star so that they may bring gifts to a newborn king. The yearly live telecasts of Gian Carlo Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors were a cherished Christmas tradition throughout the 1950s. In addition, since its premiere in 1951, Amahl has been performed regularly by community groups and small opera companies throughout the US, making it the single most popular American opera. This production, staged by the composer himself and originally telecast on Christmas Day, 1955, is a testament to the work’s enduring power to move the heart and stir the soul. Starring Rosemary Kuhlmann as the Mother and Bill McIver as Amahl. Members of the Symphony of the Air are under the direction of Thomas Schippers.

Two plays by William Saroyan portraying writers stymied, inspired, frustrated, excited, listful, wistful, slothful, awed, unnerved, perhaps corrupted and perplexed by the promise and let-down writing holds for them.

In the summer of 1953, Margaret Johnson, the wife of an American businessman, is touring Italy with her daughter, Clara. While sightseeing, Clara—a beautiful, surprisingly childish young woman—loses her hat in a sudden gust. As if guided by an unseen hand, the hat lands at the feet of Fabrizio Naccarelli, a handsome Florentine, who returns it to Clara. This brief episode, charged with coincidence and fate, sparks an immediate and intense romance between Clara and Fabrizio. Margaret, extremely protective of her daughter, attempts to keep Clara and Fabrizio apart.

An African-American musical version of Sophocles's tragedy, Oedipus at Colonus. In 1985 PBS televised the original Brooklyn Academy of Music production, as presented by the American Music Theater Festival at the Annenberg Center in Philadelphia, as part of the Great Performances series.

A televised production of The Merry Widow featuring behind the scenes content.

Vladimir Horowitz's piano recital in 1982 at Royal Festival Hall in London.

This musical adaptation of the Studs Terkel book examines the average worker's viewpoint--showing that he or she is anything but average. Based on a series of interviews with real working people--construction workers, waitresses, firemen, secretaries, and cleaning women, Working is both an exploration of the individuals' occupations and a lament for lost hopes and dreams.

Ken Talley, a Vietnam vet who lost his legs in combat, lives in a farmhouse in rural Missouri with his lover, Jed. Traumatized and bitter, Ken struggles to find meaning in his life. As he contemplates selling the farmhouse, old friends and family members descend for a vacation. Originally broadcast as part of the series "American Playhouse" (season 1, episode 9).

A true story about one US and one USSR delegate who, during 1982 talks in Geneva between USA and USSR on limiting medium-range nukes in Europe, met by accident in a nearby forest while on a stroll and informally started a key discussion.

The incomparable Luciano Pavarotti at his most eloquent brings Donizetti’s Nemorino to live as only he can, combining vocal fireworks, personal charisma, and charm. The enchanting production by Nathaniel Merrill, with designs by Robert O’Hearn, is the perfect setting for Nemorino’s quest to win the heart of beautiful Adina, sung by the sparkling Judith Blegen. Brent Ellis as Belcore and Sesto Bruscantini as Dr. Dulcamara round out the all-star cast. Nicola Rescigno conducts.

The historic Toscanini television concerts with the NBC Symphony Orchestra. Broadcast #7 was of a concert on December 29, 1951 from Carnegie Hall, featuring music from Wagner's operas. (Concerts #6 and #7 were released as "Vol. 4" in the DVD series.)

The historic Toscanini television concerts with the NBC Symphony Orchestra. Broadcast #6 was of a concert on November 3, 1951 from Carnegie Hall, featuring the Overture to Carl Maria von Weber's Euryanthe and Brahms's Symphony No. 1 in C minor op68. (Concerts #6 and #7 were released as "Vol. 4" in the DVD series.)

Dramatist Luigi Pirandello's mordant comedy of manners tells the tale of upper-crust Italians Silia Gala and her sneering spouse, Leone, who finds his impassivity tested when he has to duel his wife's frustrated paramour.

During an invasion by the Swedish army, the Prince of Homburg, a 17th century Prussian nobleman, disobeys his military orders. Although his bold decision leads to the enemy's defeat, the prince still finds himself sentenced to death.

High-spirited model Hazel decides that she should settle down in this stage play based on a Dorothy Parker short story. But her marriage to traveling salesman Herbie Morse fails to satisfy her due to his alcoholism and frequent absences. Dispirited and bored, Hazel turns to alcohol herself—and to other men—as her lively spirit sinks and her life begins a downward spiral.

The Christmas Tree is a 1958 Hallmark Hall of Fame made-for-television film that was broadcast on NBC on December 14, 1958. It is based on the short story "An Affair at the Inn" by Charles J. Finger. A number of stars in short skits, including Carol Channing and Cyril Ritchard on skates.

Broadway and concert star Audra McDonald rings in the new year with a program of cherished song standards by Duke Ellington, George Gershwin, Harold Arlen, and others, backed by members of the New York Philharmonic conducted by Ted Sperling.

While the rest of the Hebrews bewail their fate, Samson alone trusts in God's promise of liberty. Abimelech, the Philistine satrap of Gaza, enters to mock the Hebrews' God, proclaiming the superiority of Dagon, and the Hebrews are afraid of him. But calls them to show some defiance, so Abimelech attacks Samson with his sword. Samson seizes the sword and strikes him dead. The Hebrews scatter and the High Priest of Dagon appears, cursing the Hebrews. When a messenger reports that the Hebrews are ravaging the harvest, the High Priest forms a plan to use Delilah to overcome Samson's strength. Delilah's beauty is such that Samson can't resist her for long. She begs to know the secret of his supernatural strength, but he refuses, though he says he loves her. Delilah betrays Samson by having some Philistine soldiers seize him and throw him into a prison in Gaza, where his hair is cut off.

In celebration of its 100th anniversary in 1983, the Metropolitan Opera hosts a four-hour performance uniting some of the world's most spellbinding opera singers and conductors. The event includes a ballet from Samson et Dalila and boasts incredible classical performances from Kathleen Battle, Plácido Domingo, Jose Carerras, Leonard Bernstein, Marilyn Horne, Leona Mitchell, Luciano Pavarotti and many more.

Opera greats Luciano Pavarotti and Joan Sutherland -- one of the most acclaimed tenors and one of the most beloved sopranos of the 20th century -- take the stage at the Met for a gala evening of opera scenes with special guest Leo Nucci. Filmed in 1987, the memorable program includes scenes from the first and third acts of Donizetti's "Lucia di Lammermoor," the third act of Verdi's "La Traviata" and the third act of Verdi's "Rigoletto."

This telecast offers a rare opportunity to see the legendary Joan Sutherland in the role that first catapulted her to international stardom. She drove audiences wild by the way her opulent voice caressed the music’s long phrases and sprinted effortlessly through the fiendish runs, trills, embellishments and stratospheric high notes. One of the glories of the operatic world, her portrayal of Donizetti’s hapless heroine is a multifaceted and moving characterization. The incomparable tenor Alfredo Kraus is Edgardo, the man Lucia loves but cannot have. (Performance taped November 13, 1982. Broadcasted September 28, 1983.)

Joe Boyd, an aging Washington Senators fan, would sell his soul for the Senators to beat the New York Yankees and win the pennant. Enter Mr. Applegate, who offers to turn Boyd into Joe Hardy, a powerful young baseball player, in exchange for his soul. When Boyd agrees, he becomes Hardy and leads the Senators on a winning streak. When he starts to miss his wife, though, and questions the deal, Applegate sends temptress Lola into the mix.

The historic, original, live airing of what would become an annual Christmas tradition throughout the 1950s, this opera tells the story of Amahl, a crippled shepherd boy, and his destitute mother, who provide temporary shelter to three men who are following a star to the newly-born Christ child.

Imbuing the familiar Don Juan myth with a captivating combination of comedy, seductiveness, danger, and damnation, Mozart created an enduring masterpiece that has been a cornerstone of the repertory since its 1787 premiere. An early entry in the Met’s series of PBS telecasts, this 1978 performance captures a young James Morris in a smooth portrayal of the title role, with the legendary Joan Sutherland showing off her unsurpassed technique as Donna Anna and Gabriel Bacquier as a masterful Leporello.

Puccini’s heartbreaking story of young love in the garrets of Belle Epoque Paris has attracted many famous singers through the years. But with James Levine at the helm and the starry duo of Luciano Pavarotti and Renata Scotto as Rodolfo and Mimi, every bit of emotion in the score pours across the footlights and seduces the audience. In this case, the audience was in the millions since this was the very first in the “Live from the Met” series of telecasts. The evocative production is by Fabrizio Melano, designed by Pier Luigi Pizzi.

Live Metropolitan Opera performance March, 1985.

A stellar cast brings Puccini’s spellbinding opera to life, seizing every opportunity to thrill the audience. Luciano Pavarotti is Cavaradossi, the painter and political revolutionary in love with the beautiful and famous singer Tosca (the riveting Shirley Verrett). Rome’s diabolical chief of police, Baron Scarpia (Cornell MacNeil), wants Tosca for himself—but he underestimates the fury of a woman in love. With torture, murder, and a suicide in its final moments, Tosca packs more dramatic punches than most other operas—and this classic telecast captures them all. James Conlon conducts in a production by the incomparable Tito Gobbi, one of the great Scarpias of the 20th century.

All the throbbing eroticism—and ultimate heartbreak—of Puccini’s youthful score is unleashed by James Levine and his top-flight cast. Plácido Domingo is Des Grieux, the handsome, headstrong young aristocrat who falls head over heels for the enticing, impetuous Manon Lescaut (Renata Scotto). Manon returns his love, but her obsession with luxury ruins them both. Gian Carlo Menotti’s opulent production, with sets and costumes by Desmond Heeley, superbly captures the colorful world of 18th century France.

This enchanting, evening-length ode to Shakespeare’s comedy features Maria Calegari (Titania), Ib Andersen (Oberon), and Jean-Pierre Frohlich (Puck). Set to music by Felix Mendelssohn, this ballet weaves a tale of love and magic in delightful fashion. Robert Irving conducts the New York City Ballet Orchestra.

"La Bohème" is one of Giacomo Puccini's most popular and timeless works and the second-most performed opera at New York's Metropolitan Opera. This production, directed by the legendary Franco Zeffirelli, features José Carreras, Teresa Stratas, Renata Scotto and Richard Stilwell. The opera is replete with extraordinary visual beauty as it presents the tragic story of young bohemians struggling to make it in the world.

On the day in 1965 that the Pope visits New York and masses of people line the streets in adulation, Artie, a zookeeper living in Sunnyside, Queens, thinks it's time for his life to be blessed, too. He desperately wants to escape his lower middle-class existence and become a popular singer and songwriter, but his life is complicated by an ambitious mistress, a crazy wife and a bomb-making son.

In this rousing satire a native upstate New York clerk comes to 1920s Manhattan with dreams of making in big on Tin Pan Alley.

Thirty distinguished astronomers are visited at their observatories throughout the world in this comprehensive report of astronomical theories, research, and discoveries.

This concert film made in the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles in 1976 captures a memorable performance conducted by the doyen of American composers, Aaron Copland. It includes some of his greatest and most attractive music, from the patriotic flourish of Fanfare for the Common Man and the spirited orchestral fantasy El Salón México, to the colloquial warmth of his suite from the opera The Tender Land. Of particular importance is the collaboration with the great Benny Goodman in the masterwork he commissioned and premiered, the Clarinet Concerto.

This program features the music of Broadway composer Stephen Sondheim in a 1992 performance at Carnegie Hall. An American Musical Theatre writer for over 40 years, Stephen Sondheim has created the scores for hits such as Passion, Assassins, Bounce, Into The Woods, Sunday In The Park With George, Merrily We Roll Along, Sweeney Todd and Pacific Overtures. Featuring: Liza Minnelli, Patti LuPone, Bernadette Peters, Glenn Close and many more.

A Danish prince and university student avenges his father's murder by his uncle, who stole the crown and married his mother.

Piano Vladimir Horowitz in a televised recital from the White House on 26 January 1978, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of his US debut, at the invitation of President & Mrs Carter. On the program, Chopin's Sonata #2 in B-flat minor, Waltzes in A minor and C-sharp minor, and Polonaise in A-flat, followed by encores by Schumann, Rachmaninoff, and Horowitz's own Carmen Variations.

As Blanche’s fragile world crumbles, she turns to her sister Stella for solace – but her downward spiral brings her face to face with the brutal, unforgiving Stanley Kowalski. This is the world premiere performance by the San Francisco Opera on September 19, 1998.

Renata Scotto is the innocent Luisa, very much in love with Rodolfo (Plácido Domingo in one of his best roles). But he turns out to be the son of the Count Walter (Bonaldo Giaiotti), who has other plans for his aristocratic boy. Enter the evil Wurm (James Morris) whose blackmail eventually backfires, destroying the young lovers despite everything Luisa's father (Sherrill Milnes in a superb performance) does to protect her. James Levine's affectionate conducting and director Nathaniel Merrill's production help make this a performance to treasure.