 The work was completed in February 1938 and premiered at Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in London on 21 July 1938, with sets and costumes by Pavel Tchelitchew and under the baton of the composer.He led one performance of the new ballet at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York (for which the title was temporarily altered to "Saint Francis") on 14 October of the same year.After the ballet premiere, Hindemith extracted a 20-minute orchestral suite (retaining the "Nobilissima visione" name) in three movements, using five of the original eleven movements