[2] It was subsequently performed in concert form by the Los Angeles Opera on May 25, 2018, as a part of their Off Grand Series.
Unbeknownst to Whitman, Wormley is in fact a Confederate soldier, and the letter will alert the Confederacy to the hospital's location so that they can destroy it.
[4] Anthony Tommasini of the New York Times called the work "taut" and "inspired", praising the performers, direction and score.
[6] WBUR's Lloyd Schwartz criticized the work as "high-minded" and "inflated", though he praised the orchestration as "dazzling".
[4] Several critics noted the influence of other composers on the score, including Benjamin Britten, John Adams, Philip Glass and Thomas Adès.