Hugh Bonneville Hosts GREAT PERFORMANCES - FROM VIENNA: THE NEW YEAR'S CELEBRATION, 1/1

Hugh Bonneville joins as new host to ring in 2018 for beloved annual PBS broadcast tradition from the heart of Austria. The show premieres Monday, January 1, 2018 at 2:30 p.m. and 9 p.m. on PBS (check local listings)

THIRTEEN's GREAT PERFORMANCES continues the cherished tradition of ringing in the new year with the Vienna Philharmonic at the opulent Musikverein, under the baton of Italian conductor and Chicago Symphony Orchestra Music Director Riccardo Muti, featuring favorite Strauss Family waltzes and the dancing of the Vienna State Ballet. This year's program welcomes new host Hugh Bonneville, best known as Robert, Earl of Grantham, in Masterpiece's global phenomenon Downton Abbey.

As host, Bonneville visits some of Vienna's most notable locations, including Steinhof Church, the beautiful Art Nouveau church designed by one of the fathers of modern architecture, Otto Wagner; Palais Coburg, where "Waltz King" Johann Strauss II was a frequent guest and performer; Eckartsau Hunting Lodge, the final stop of Austria's last Emperor Karl I before going into exile; and a typical heuriger or wine tavern in the famous Vienna Woods.

In addition to performances of waltz favorites like "Tales from the Vienna Woods" and "On the Beautiful Blue Danube," joining the Strauss Family repertoire is music by Alphons Czibulka, whose "Stéphanie-Gavotte" provides the soundtrack to a pas de deux at Emperor Franz Josef's private train station-which was ultimately used just twice. This year's other ballet performance features dancers from the Vienna State Ballet waltzing to "Roses from the South" by Johann Strauss II at the Schloss Eckartsau hunting lodge.

The Vienna Philharmonic's traditional New Year's program is the largest worldwide event in classical music reaching millions of people annually through radio and television in over 80 countries. The 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. This year's telecast marks Muti's fifth time conducting and the 34th broadcast of the event on PBS.

Broadcast & Streaming Availability:

Great Performances - From Vienna: The New Year's Celebration 2018 premieres Monday, January 1, 2018, 2:30-4:00 p.m. on PBS (check local listings) with an encore performance 9:00-10:30 p.m. on PBS (check local listings). The broadcast will be available to stream the following day via pbs.org/gperf and PBS OTT apps.

Short TV Listing:

Celebrate with the Vienna Philharmonic conducted by Riccardo Muti. Hugh Bonneville hosts.

Long TV Listing:

Ring in the New Year with the Vienna Philharmonic, under the baton of conductor Riccardo Muti at the opulent Musikverein. Hosted by Hugh Bonneville and featuring favorite Strauss Family waltzes accompanied by the dancing of the Vienna City Ballet.

Notable Talent:

Hugh Bonneville, host (best known as Robert, Earl of Grantham, in Masterpiece: Downton Abbey)

Music Selections:

Franz von Suppe - Boccaccio, Overture

Johann Strauss -Myrtle Blossoms, Waltz (Augarten)

Alphons Czibulka - Stéphanie-Gavotte

Johann Strauss - Magic Bullets, Quick Polka

Johann Strauss -Tales from the Vienna Woods, Waltz

Johann Strauss - Festive March

Johann Strauss - A Masked Ball

Johann Strauss - Roses from the South, Waltz

Josef Strauss - Letter to the Editor, Quick Polka

Encores:

Johann Strauss - Thunder and Lightning, Quick Polka

Johann Strauss - On the Beautiful Blue Danube, Waltz

Johann Strauss, Sr. - Radetzky March

Locations in Vienna visited by Hugh Bonneville:

Steinhof Church

Otto Wagner Villa, Ernst Fuchs Museum

Museum of Military History

Otto Wagner Schutzenhaus

Eckartsau Hunting Lodge

Palais Coburg

Krug Family Inn (Vienna Woods)

Production Credits:

From Vienna: The New Year's Celebration 2018 is produced by Karin Veitl, and directed by Henning Kasten, with John Walker as producer/writer. For Great Performances, John Walker and Richard R. Schilling are producers; Bill O'Donnell is series producer; David Horn is executive producer.

Underwriters:

Great Performances is funded by the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Arts Fund, The Joseph & Robert Cornell Memorial Foundation, the Irene Diamond Fund, Rosalind P. Walter, The LuEsther T. Mertz Charitable Trust, The Agnes Varis Trust, The Starr Foundation, the Kate W. Cassidy Foundation, the Philip and Janice Levin Foundation, Ellen and James S. Marcus, The Abra Prentice Foundation and PBS. Exclusive corporate support for the concert is provided by Rolex.

Series Overview: GREAT PERFORMANCES is produced by THIRTEEN PRODUCTIONS LLC for WNET. Throughout its more than 40-year history on public television, GREAT PERFORMANCES has provided viewers across the country with an unparalleled showcase of the best in all genres of the performing arts, serving as America's most prestigious and enduring broadcaster of cultural programming

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