In this program, Robert Craft conducts the Columbia Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in a performance of Igor Stravinsky's musical drama "The Flood," which is based on the Book of Genesis and the York and Chester Miracle Plays of 1430-1500, and was originally commissioned for television by CBS in 1959. In this version, real and electronically manipulated images are blended to create a surreal effect. Cast members mime their roles, accompanied by voice-over narration and dialogue by Sebastian Cabot, Laurence Harvey, John Reardon, Robert Oliver, Richard Robinson, Elsa Lancaster, and Paul Tripp. The program begins with a prologue by performance artist Laurie Anderson, who discusses Stravinsky and gives a brief history of "The Flood." The story of Noah -- briefly preceded by the stories of Creation, the fall of Lucifer, and Adam and Eve -- unfolds in segments entitled "Melodrama," "The Building of the Ark," "The Catalogue of the Animals," "The Comedy," "The Flood," and "The Covenant of the Rainbow." In preparation for a great flood sent by God to destroy all of the creatures on Earth who have become corrupt, Noah is instructed by God to build an ark to save himself, his family, and pairs of animals from all species.