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Just Listen: A Wagner Matinee

A young Bostonian named Clark receives word that his Aunt Georgiana is coming to visit from Nebraska to settle an estate. Thirty years have passed since Georgiana has seen Boston. 

Clark recalls her kindness to him when, as a boy, he visited Nebraska and she introduced him to Shakespeare, classical mythology, and the music she played on her small parlor organ.  The story takes place in Boston, but Clark, the narrator, describes Nebraska in detail. 

“A Wagner Matinée” combines two familiar Willa Cather themes—the hardship and desolation of pioneer life and the sustaining power of music on the human spirit.

 “A Wagner Matinée,” by Willa Cather…we begin….