Mark Twain

Inspired by his surprisingly Berra-esque quotation, "Wagner's music is better than it sounds," I found today Samuel Clemens' "At The Shrine of St. Wagner," an account of his attending the Wagner opera festival at Bayreuth in 1891.

Clemens is a great writer, and he found the event quite dramatic, so it's a very enjoyable read. I particularly like Thursday, when he writes about the previous evening's Tristan and Isolde. -- Peter Kaminski, 20010716