While working on "The Unicorn, the Gorgon, and the Manticore"', Menotti crafted the libretto for Barber's most famous opera, "Vanessa", which premiered at the Metropolitan Opera in 1958. That same year his opera "Maria Golovin" premiered at the 1958 Brussels World's Fair. Commissioned by Peter Herman Adler and the NBC Opera, the production moved to the Martin Beck Theatre on Broadway in 1959 and was also filmed for a nationally televised broadcast on NBC. The cast remained constant throughout and included Patricia Neway, Ruth Kobart, Norman Kelley, William Chapman, and Richard Cross.