After the failure of The Love of the Three Oranges in America at the end of 1921, and in spite of the lack of interest in the production of The Gambler and the early Maddalena, Prokofieff firmly decided on a new operatic composition. Accordingly, he settled himself in Ettal, near Oberammergau, for the sole reason, as it appears, of finding a suitable environment for his Flaming Angel. Although sketches of the thematic material go back to 1919, work on the scenario seems only to have been started in the United States and the musical themes put on paper earlier were probably intended for a symphony (subsequently No. 3) and, according to Nestieff, for a quartet “on the white keys.”