Knights at the Opera, Part 2 - Arthurian Knights

chantress Morgan le Fay holds sway along with her friend Lady de Hautdesert; they hope to bring down Arthur's court. Gawain is given a series of trials, three-part hunt that involves his turning over whatever he captures. He dishonestly retains a sash that the Lady gives him, and it protects him when the Green Knight (really Bertilak himself) strikes him with an ax on the appointed day. Though he returns safely to the Round Table, Gawain is now discomforted by his new awareness of his own human frailties, which had caused him to disobey his own code of chivalry: he has allowed his fear of death to prevent him from fighting an honest battle. As the opera concludes, he refuses to allow his fellow knights to celebrate his victory, as though technically he won the battle, he knows his moral weakness has allowed the forces of evil to irreparably infiltrate his own cause.

Of course, as we contemplate 21st century warfare, honor, fellowship, and a willingness to die for one's beliefs take on a whole new dimension. Keep these traits in mind when we look at Wagner's knights in the next installment.

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