Knights at the Opera, Part 6 - The Courtly Love of Spain
e conclusion of this radiantly rendered aria, he demands the return of Dulcinée's necklace: "Le joyau, lui, n'est rien, mais la cause est sacrée" - "The jewel, itself, is nothing, but the cause is sacred." Deeply moved, the men give him the necklace and kneel for his blessing.
When he returns, he learns Dulcinée has no intention of rewarding him with her hand, as the knight has been led to assume in Act I..."Me marier, moi?!" - "Me marry?!" she hoots, before all.... Momentarily alone with him after this cruel demonstration, she sincerely apologizes to Quichotte for being unworthy of his love, and the broken-hearted knight blesses even her, who has so wounded him. When her admirers return to mock Quichotte anew, his faithful Sanche - Sancho Panza - has his big moment, in which he scolds the cast and then summons Quichotte to ride forth once more to great adventure.
Alas, these events have taxed the knight's spirit too greatly, and he dies a magnificent death in Act V, propped to stand against a tree and reaching for the star he so believes in, as Dulcinée's voice seems to become one with his last vision of that bright beam. His only crime has been, as he sings to Sanche, to have "survécut à la Chevalerie errante" - "survived the vanished Age of Chivalry."
Next week, another legendary Spanish knight who had a happier ending: Le Cid.
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