Stravinsky was 40 and living in Paris when he composed his one act opera buffa Mavra. He was at the beginning of his "neo-classical" period. Boris Kochna wrote the libtretto based on a Pushkin short story. The dedication on the score is to Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.[It premiered in Paris on June 3, 1922, staged under the auspices of Sergei Diaghilev.
The Flood was commisioned for CBS television in 1962 and is an example of Stravinksy's serial style.