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'Clara's Visitor' performance will feature Stephanie Wendt on Bosendorfer piano

By Myrna Mibus
January 7, 2005

From the moment Stephanie Wendt steps onstage, the audience is drawn into her one-woman play, Clara's Visitor. Wearing a period costume and speaking in a German accent, Wendt's acting and piano playing work together to make a little- known piece of history come alive.

The Northfield Historical Society, with generous sponsorship from St. Olaf and Carleton colleges, invites you to attend this extraordinary play on Sunday, Jan. 9, at 3 p.m., at First United Church of Christ in Northfield. Written and performed by award-winning pianist Stephanie Wendt, Clara's Visitor takes us back to a day in the life of one of the most famous concert pianists of all time, Clara Wieck Schumann.

The play, which takes place in Clara's living room in the 1850s, pinpoints a difficult time for Clara. Her husband, Robert Schumann, after a long struggle with depression and an attempted suicide, has been committed to a mental institution. Clara is left to raise their seven children, manage the household and her career at a time when women were not encouraged to pursue professional interests on their own.

She finds comfort and support in the presence of a mysterious "visitor" in her D?sseldorf home. The audience experiences Clara's joys, pains, vulnerabilities and passions as Wendt weaves the story together with Clara's words and music as well as that of her husband and their friend, Johannes Brahms.

Aside from trying to figure out the identity of the mysterious visitor, part of the appeal of the play is in how audiences relate to Clara's story. In Clara's diaries and letters, which Wendt quotes throughout the play, Clara writes honestly about the joys and struggles of her married life and how difficult it is to balance career and family. "This is something that every human being can relate to at some level," Wendt says. "You could be talking about something that happened yesterday."

Instead of sharing Clara's life through a piano recital, Wendt chose to do something that she hoped would engage a broader audience. "Everything in the play, other than sort of connecting tissue, is directly related to the historical documents," says Wendt. "But I gave them just enough life and color so that the history comes alive."

And, according to the rave reviews from as far away as Wendt's homeland of Australia, history does come alive when people experience Clara's Visitor.

It's the show's appeal, the living history and the beautiful music, that makes Clara's Visitor an ideal event to bring to Northfield and to benefit the Northfield Historical Society. "We want to offer the community things of vital interest, of entertainment value and of true historical information," says Executive Director Mark Fagerwick. "Offering Clara's Visitor helps us broaden our reach and become more involved in the community."

Wendt's excitement for the community of Northfield, as well as her passion for keeping history alive, shines through when she talks about her upcoming performance. "I'm just thrilled to be associated with this. I get pleasure doing it, but it gives me double pleasure that something good will come out of this for the society," she says.

Wendt will perform Clara's Visitor on the magnificent Bosendorfer piano at First United Church of Christ (300 Union St.) in Northfield. The event takes place at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 9, 2005. A coffee reception follows. Tickets are $20 and benefit the Northfield Historical Society. To order tickets, call 507-645-9268.

Contact David Gonnerman at 507-786-3315 or gonnermd@stolaf.edu.