Lessons in Love and Violence

Part One Scene 1. Mortimer criticizes the King's obsession with his lover, Gaveston, at a time when his people are suffering from war and starvation. The King strips Mortimer of his wealth and lands. Scene 2. Mortimer impresses on Isabel the King's dereliction of his duties by confronting her with representatives of the suffering people. She agrees to support Mortimer's campaign against Gaveston. Scene 3. Gaveston is arrested during an entertainment at the King's residence. Scene 4. The King rejects Isabel when he hears of Gaveston's death. Part Two Scene 1. Isabel is now living with Mortimer. They instruct the King's son to assert his royalty by presenting him with a madman who believes that he himself is the true King. Scene 2. The King is in prison. Mortimer persuades him to abdicate. Death, in the guise of Gaveston, claims the King. Scene 3. The King's son, having succeeded to the throne, rejects Isabel and arranges the death of Mortimer. ==Critical reception==

The opera received a positive reception in the British press, with some reservations. The review in The Guardian commented: "[D]espite the care that has so clearly gone into every aspect of the production, it often seems to be the orchestral music that is really in charge of the drama, as if the usual priorities of opera have been reversed. In the end the terrible story becomes the excuse for some striking music rather than being driven along by it." The critic in the Daily Telegraph commented that he "left Covent Garden impressed rather than excited or moved. For all the refinements, Benjamin and Crimp haven’t moved on from Written on Skin [their previous opera] so much as shuffled the cards to play the same game." The Stage however praised the opera: "George Benjamin’s new work on the subject of Edward II once again shows his operatic mastery." == See also ==