The libretto in German was written by the Viennese secessionist poet and Szymanowski's friend Felix Dörmann [de].

The opera made its premiere on 13 May 1922 at the Great Theatre, Warsaw, Poland,[2][3] and it has been produced four times.

The opera was criticized and disparaged in the interwar Poland notably by critic (and writer of prayer songs) Stanisław Niewiadomski, a devout Catholic and former official in the Austrian Partition,[4] as well as other clericalists, due to its author's openly gay lifestyle.

[5] The libretto by Felix Dörmann [de] is loosely based on the Old Testament, with the emphasis on deception and jealousy in love and death, similar to other popular motifs in operatic works of the early 20th century including Salome and Elektra by Strauss.

In the libretto, the old and ailing king is told by the high priest and his doctor, that only the love of a young girl can bring him a new lease of life.