Krenek, an Austrian who was in Switzerland at the time of the Anschluss, escaped to exile in the USA and a teaching position at Vassar College, where Lavery (1902–86) was a newspaper editor in neighboring Poughkeepsie (he would later run for Congress and write for Hollywood).
The piece was designed for college workshops and used six instruments (violin, clarinet, trumpet, percussion and two pianos) but the twelve-tone music still proved beyond the reach of potential performers; only two scenes were given at Vassar on 13 May 1941.
If the title character in Der Diktator and Agamemnon in Leben des Orest were inspired by Benito Mussolini, Tarquin's title character can be seen as a caricature of Adolf Hitler (albeit with a complicated inner life) as well as a modern incarnation of his namesake Sextus Tarquinius.
The action resumes in an indefinite near future, when Tarquin has made himself dictator and Corinna has ties to a clandestine radio station.
"[2] In Karl V, he had espoused a universal Catholicism as an antidote to fascist nationalism, but later scoffed at the idea of his having converted: "When the assassin is trying the front door lock, it's time to barricade oneself in the attic without asking how leaky the roof may be.