Quartet

The plot takes place in Beecham House, a retirement home for former professional musicians, patterned after the real-life Casa di Riposo per Musicisti founded by Giuseppe Verdi. Reg, Wilf and Cissy are retired opera singers who often worked together in the past; among other residents are Cedric Livingstone, a former director, and diva Anne Langley. All the guests in the retirement home are suffering in varying degree the ailments old age can bring but continue to be engaged in their former professions in one way or another, including lecturing and introducing young people to music.