 The composer's widow, Lina Prokofiev, who was established as being the rightful owner of the manuscript, asked the English musician Edward Downes to create a performing version.Originally this was to have been premiered by the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis in 1980, but because of contractual problems, following "Maddalena"'s premiere in a studio recording broadcast by BBC Radio 3 on 25 March 1979 with Jill Gomez in the title role., its first staging was at the Graz Opera, Austria, on 28 November 1981, conducted by Downes.The American premiere, using a re-scored version by Downes, was given by the Saint Louis company on 9 June 1982, conducted by Bruce Ferden.