Michael Jarrell received a commission for the opera by the Fondation Pro Helvetia and the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris.
[1] The opera received its world premiere on 4 February 1994 at the Théâtre du Châtelet, with Marthe Keller as the speaker and the Ensemble InterContemporain, conducted by David Robertson, directed by Peter Konwitschny.
[1] The opera was recorded in 2008 with Astrid Bas and the Ensemble intercontemporain conducted by Susanna Mälkki.
[1] The priestess Cassandre, who predicted the fall of Troy in the Trojan War, narrates her memories of the events in contemplative monologue.
The episodes "follow one another without transition, attracting and sounding into one another, in a stream of consciousness that reveals the essential".