Henderson the Rain King, itself informed by many and disparate literary and cultural sources, has itself been adapted as an opera, Lily. Leon Kirchner's 1977 score treats only the first third of the novel. One emphasis in this manifestation of Bellow's narrative is on the woman for whom Henderson so joyfully learns to express his love, having realized how much his love for her centers his life. Kirchner, affected by the war in Vietnam and concurrent concerns about American imperialism in developing countries, focuses on Henderson's failure with the Arnewi rather than following the novel's emphasis on the process of Henderson's recovery at the Wariri village.