ACT I. In a forest near the castle of Monsalvat, Gurnemanz, knight of the Holy Grail, rises with two young Esquires from sleep. Two other Knights arrive to prepare a morning bath for their ailing leader, Amfortas, who suffers from an incurable wound. Kundry, an ageless woman of many guises, rushes in wildly with balsam for Amfortas. The king and his entourage enter, accept the gift and proceed to the nearby lake. As Gurnemanz bewails Amfortas' wound, his companions ask him to tell about the sorcerer Klingsor, who once tried to join the knightly brotherhood. Denied because of his worldly lust, he tried to gain acceptance by castrating himself and again was rejected. Now an implacable foe, Klingsor entrapped Amfortas with a beautiful woman: while the king was lying in her arms, Klingsor snat