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Butler serves up her inimitable brand of wicked, Southern-fried humor as she cuts loose on such juicy subjects as her ex-husband, New York and her Southern upbringing.

This incredible look at the preparation and production of a Live in HD cinema transmission takes you behind the scenes of the new Cav/Pag with the HD director, host, stars, and crew for an up-close view of the exciting process behind the Met's extraordinary HD presentations

Michael Tilson Thomas explores the lives of his grandparents, Boris and Bessie Thomashefsky, through a musical performance that features five performers and the New World Symphony orchestra, performed at the New World Center in Miami Beach. Founding members of the Yiddish Theater in America, the Thomashefskys owned theaters, published their own magazine, wrote columns in the popular Yiddish newspapers, sponsored and encouraged generations of young artists, brought countless Yiddish artists to America, tirelessly raised funds for progressive social causes, and, through it all, were adventurous trendsetters. This story presents a musical sound that few have heard, assimilating Eastern European klezmer and cantorial modes with American tones and rhythms.

• All I want for Christmas (Dec. 15, 1997; ca. 22 min.)
• The letter (Dec. 8, 1997; ca. 22 min.)
• Mozart (Oct. 13, 1997; ca. 22 min.)
• Good girls (Mar. 8, 1998; ca. 22 min.).

All I want for Christmas: Ray and Debra want to have some time alone so they can be intimate but they have constant interruptions.
The letter: When Marie crashes and ruins her Tupperware party, Debra decides that she's had just about enough of her mother-in-law's constant interference. She takes pen to paper and writes a letter to her mother-in-law, telling her to stop intruding into her life. Horrified by the problems that this letter might trigger, Ray does everything in his power to intercept the offending document - but he fails. Surprisingly, the family discovers that honesty really may be the best policy.
Mozart: Ray resumes his interest in the piano to reach Ally a lesson about quitting when she refuses to continue with her lessons, but it's his mother who orchestrates an even more valuable lesson when she strikes a sentimental chord from Ray's past.
Good girls: When Ray finds out that Marie prefers Robert's new girlfriend to Debra because she's a "good girl" Ray tells Marie that Debra was a "good girl" too before they got married, which is a lie. Also Robert learns that his birth was not planned and that his birthday is not when he thinks it is.

• Symphonie fantastique / produced and directed by David Kennard, Joan Saffa
• Symphonie fantastique concert / director, Gary Halvorson ; producer, Michael Bronson
• Special features.

" 'I feel, therefore I am.' For Hector Berlioz, and for the Romantic movement he personified, those were words to live by. But with the unprecedented outpouring of emotion in his Symphonie fantastique he almost overpowered Paris. This orchestral sonic spectacular, written to win the heart of a beautiful actress, demanded sacrifice from its author and his audience. From romantic daydreams to deadly displays of devotion, the symphony relates an 'episode in the life of an artist,' that artist being the love-obsessed composer himself. Join Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony as they follow Berlioz to the brink in this episode of Keeping Score"--Container.

"Ranging from tender sentiment to savage chaos, the music of early 20th-century composer Charles Ives explores an essentially American riddle: how can we survive the relentless assault of our own success? It was an enigma Ives embodied himself. He believed that we should all be brave enough to go it alone--yet he earned his living in insurance! In this DVD, Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony unwrap the layers of Ives' to reveal a surprising musical portrait of New England. The four movements journey across the terrain of the seasons. From the intimacy of the winter hearth to the explosive concussion of the 4th of July, discover the insights Ives liberates in his music's confrontational crunch. Join Michael Tilson Thomas as he, the San Francisco Symphony, and Charles Ives belt it out over truth, beauty and the American way"-- Container.

• Copland and the American sound (55 min.)
• Live performance of Copland's Appalachian spring / director, Gary Halvorson ; producer, Michael Bronson (37 min.)
• Bonus material.

"Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Franciso Symphony explore the music of Copland and the cityscapes, landscapes, and social and political developments that shaped it"--Container.

• Stravinsky's Rite of Spring / InCA productions ; produced and directed by David Kennard, Joan Saffa (55 min.)
• Live performance of Stravinsky's The Firebird suite and The Rite of Spring / director, Gary Halvorson ; producer, Michael Bronson (52 min.)
• Bonus material.

Music director Michael Tilson Thomas and the musicians of the San Francisco Symphony go from the salons of St. Petersburg to the villages where Stravinsky found inspiration in the earthy power of Russian folk music and dance. Thomas then retraces Stravinsky's journey to the cultural crossroads of pre-war Paris, where the composer collaborates with the great impresario Diaghilev and his star dancer Nijinsky to develop the shocking, erotic, and violent evocation of pagan Russia that became The Rite of Spring. Includes a live performance of Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring and music from The Firebird by the San Francisco Symphony, with Thomas conducting.

"This DVD investigates the arresting music that would either redeem Shostakovich or doom him. Did he dare hide a kernel of music criticism in what appears to be a paean to the motherland? Join Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony as they explore the hidden language of this masterwork. What Shostakovich has to say might depend on what you're brave enough to hear"-- Container.

• Beethoven's Eroica / InCA productions ; produced and directed by David Kennard & Joan Saffa
• Beethoven's Eroica in concert / director, Gary Halvorson; producer, Michael Bronson
• Extra features.

San Francisco Symphony's music director, Michael Tilson Thomas, retraces Beethoven's steps through Vienna's aristocratic ballrooms and Austria's rustic villages, exploring how Beethoven channeled his fears of deafness, his admiration for Napoleon, and his obsession to prove himself the greatest composer of his time and to write the Eroica. Includes a live performance of Beethoven's Eroica by the San Franciso Symphony conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas.

• The making of a performance: Tchaikovsky's 4th Symphony / InCA productions ; produced and directed by David Kennard, Joan Saffa ; executive producer, Janette Gitler (56 min.)
• Live performance of Tchaikovsky's 4th Symphony / director, Gary Halvorson ; producer, Michael Bronson (49 min.)
• Bonus material.

Includes a documentary hosted by the San Francisco Symphony's music director Michael Tilson Thomas, who discusses the drama, pathos, elation, and despair embodied in Tchaikovsky's 4th Symphony; the documentary features interviews with musicians as it takes the viewer behind the scenes to experience the preparation that goes into a performance of the piece. Also includes a live performance of the complete Tchaikovsky 4th by the San Francisco Symphony, with Thomas conducting.

• Opening credits
• Introduction by Eric Owens
• Una vela! Una vela!
• Esultate! L'orgoglio musulmano
• Roderigo, ebben che pensi?
• Fuoco di gioia!
• Roderigo, beviam!
• Inaffia l'ugola!
• Capitano, v'attende la fazione ai baluardi
• Già nella notte densa
• Non ti crucciar
• Vanne, la tua meta già vedo
• Credo in un Dio crudel
• Ciò m'accora--
• Che parli?
• Dove guardi splendono raggi
• D'un uom che geme sotto il tuo disdegno
• Tu?! Indietro! Fuggi!!
• Ora e per sempre addio
• Éra la notte, Cassio dormia
• Oh! mostruosa colpa!
• Sì, pel ciel marmoreo giuro!
• Introduction to Acts III and IV by Eric Owens
• La vedetta del porto ha segnalato la veneta galea
• Dio ti giocondi, o sposo
• Esterrefatta fisso
• Dio! mi potevi scagliar tutti i mali
• Vieni, l'aula è deserta
• Quest'è il segnale
• Il Doge ed il Senato salutano
• Quell'innocente un fremito
• Fuggite!
• Era più calmo?
• Piangea cantando nell'erma landa
• Ave Maria piena di grazia
• Chi è là? Otello?
• Diceste questa sera le vostre preci?
• Aprite! Apriete!
• Niun mi tema
• Bows and closing credits
• Backstage at the Met with host Eric Owens. Interview with Željko Lučić and Aleksandrs Antonenko
• Trio rehearsal from Act III
• Backstage at the Met with host Eric Owens. Interview with Yannick Nézet-Séguin and Bartlett Sher ; Interview with Sonya Yoncheva

Tony Award-winning Bartlett Sher's bold new production probes the psychological underpinnings of Verdi's dynamic setting of Shakespeare's great tragedy. At the helm of this performance is riveting conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin who brings out all the cascading emotions in Verdi's turbulent score. Aleksandrs Antonenko is the Moor Otello, the triumphant general of the Venetian army who is ultimately brought down by the sly insinuations of his friend Iago (Željko Lučić). Sonya Yoncheva continues to win fans as Desdemona, Otello's faithful and long-suffering wife. With Günther Groissböck as Lodovico and Dimitri Pittas as Cassio

• West side story. Symphonic dances ; Gee, Officer Krupke
• A quiet place (selections)
• On the town. I can cook, too ; Ya got me
• Mass. Meditation no. 1
• Trouble in Tahiti. What a movie
• Songfest. To what you said
• Fancy free. Danzón.

An Egyptian soldier falls in love with a princess-turned-slave girl.

• Disc 1 : Act 1
• Disc 2 : Act 2
• Bonus.

A comedy set in France during medieval times when most of the men have gone off to the Crusades. Among the few who have remained behind is Comte Ory, a young nobleman intent on seducing as many women as he can. His eye is on the virtuous Countess Adèle in particular, and he disguises himself and takes up residence outside her castle. When his cover is blown, he boldly decides to make another attempt at conquest by dressing up as a nun.

During the English Civil War of the 1640's, a Puritan bride goes mad when she feels betrayed by her Royalist bridegroom.

• Billy the Kid ballet suite / Aaron Copland
• Violin concerto in E minor / Felix Mendelssohn, featuring Itzhak Perlman
• The young person's guide to the orchestra / Benjamin Britten
• Short ride in a fast machine / John Adams.

A gala concert celebrating the San Francisco Symphony's centennial with historical vignettes of this august symbol of its city interspersed.

Druid priestess Norma wrestles with love and betrayal before making the ultimate sacrifice on a funeral pyre.