Double Century and a Backward Glance

I'm interrupting my regular sequence of posts for a special one.  This blog is just over 4 years old now, having started in May of 2012, and this is my 200th post.  That's a very large number of arts events attended and reviewed -- even more than 200, actually, because I have sometimes covered more than one event in a single article!  In fact, that total even startled me a little!

So what I decided to do for the "Magic # 200" is to revisit my posts over the years, and compile a special list.  This is like a top 25 list, except it's not my favourite reviews but a list of events that have somehow lodged in my mind as extraordinary in quality or peculiarly memorable for some other reason(s).  I'm incorporating the links for each article on the list, to make it easier for you to go back and re-read them too.  Enjoy!

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[1]  Mahler Symphony No. 8, Toronto Symphony Orchestra with choirs and soloists, June 2012.

               Overwhelming Grandeur

[2]  Sophokles: Electra, Stratford Festival, August 2012.

               An Electrifying Performance

[3]  Shakespeare:  Timon of Athens, National Theatre on NT Live, November 2012.

               A Timon For Our Time

[4]  Coward:  Blithe Spirit, Stratford Festival, September 2013.

               Rarely Comest Thou, Spirit of Delight!

[5]  Schiller:  Mary Stuart, Stratford Festival, October 2013.

               A Fantasia on History

[6]  Ayckbourn:  The Norman Conquests, Soulpepper Theatre, October, 2013.

               See, the Conquering Hero Comes!

[7]  Mixed Programme, National Ballet, December, 2013.

               Innovation Both Exciting and Moving

[8]  Shakespeare: Coriolanus.  Donmar Warehouse on NT Live, February 2014.

               Sheer Stage Power

[9]  Nielsen: Symphony No. 3, Toronto Symphony, February 2014.

               A Repertory Staple and a Canadian Rarity

[10]  Mahler: Symphony No. 9, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, May 2014.

               A Ninth to Remember

[11]  Dvorak:  Requiem, Chorus Niagara and Orpheus Choir of Toronto, May 2014.

               Getting My Breath Back

[12]  Thiessen:  Lenin's Enbalmers, Curtain Club Richmond Hill, May 2014.

               Lenin's Embalmers

[13]  R. Strauss:  Four Last Songs, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Sandra Radvanovsky, June 2014.

               Sadness and Longing in Music

[14]  Kushner:  Angels in America, Soulpepper Theatre, June 2014.

               Masterly Production of a Flawed Masterpiece

[15]  Schubert:  "Death & the Maiden" Quartet; "Trout" Quintet, Festival of the Sound, July 2014.
               Schubertiade Finale

[16]  Vaughan Williams: Tallis Fantasia; Rachmaninoff: Symphonic Dances.
         Toronto Symphony Orchestra, August 2014.
               A Concert For the Ages

[17]  O'Casey:  Juno and the Paycock, Shaw Festival, September 2014.
               Powerful Marriage of Comedy and Tragedy

[18]  Neumeier:  Nijinsky, National Ballet, December 2014.
               Wow! Just...wow!

[19]  Ansky:  The Dybbuk, Soulpepper Theatre, June 2015.
               Mystical, Mysterious, and Powerful Drama

[20]  Ruhl:  Euridice, Soulpepper Theatre, June 2015.
               A Very Different Mythic Inspiration

[21]  Beethoven:  Five Piano Concertos in Three Concerts, Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Orchestra,
         Stewart Goodyear, Grand Philharmonic Choir, September 2015.
               The Beethoven Marathon

[22]  Wheeldon: The Winter's Tale, National Ballet, November 2015.
               Poetry in Motion

[23]  Kaufman:  33 Variations, Theatre Sarnia, February 2016.
               Variations on the Theme of Life

[24]  Munro:  The James Plays, National Theatre of Scotland at Luminato Festival, June 2016.
               The Scottish National Epic

[25]  Schumann: Frauenliebe und -leben; Brahms: Piano Quintet.  Festival of the Sound, July 2016.
                A Whole Day of "Above and Beyond"