Commissioned by Julius Rudel for the New York City Opera, the work premiered at Lincoln Center in 1971 in a production directed by Menotti with sets designed by Oliver Smith and costumes by Frank Thompson.

[1][2] An opera focusing on racial tensions in Africa with a central black hero, the work was poorly received by most critics.

[3] The work's first European performance was at the Teatro Lirico Giuseppe Verdi in Trieste, Italy, on January 17, 1972.

[1] Toime stops drinking and stealing and applies himself to his studies in chemistry, leading to the discovery of a valuable scientific formula that will bring wealth to his nation and enable him to become "the most important man".

[4] Dr. Arnek's wife, Leona, and his other white assistant, Eric Rupert, are distraught over Cora's assignation with a black man.