The opera received its world premiere on 28 July 2016, at the Haus für Mozart, Salzburg.[5][6][7][8] Adès' first-ever commission for the Salzburg Festival,[9] the Salzburg production received four performances.[10] The UK premiere was at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, on 24 April 2017.[11] The North American premiere took place on 26 October of the same year at the Metropolitan Opera.[12][13][14] For all of these stagings, Cairns was the stage director, with sets and costumes by Hildegard Bechtler, lighting by Jon Clark, videography by Tal Yarden,[15] and choreography by Amir Hosseinpour.
Adès had been interested in adapting the film into an opera since 2000. Copyright issues over the film and the commission for Adès' second opera, The Tempest, delayed his eventual start on this opera.[16]
The role of Leticia required soprano Audrey Luna to sing an A above high C, which is the highest documented sung note in the history of the Metropolitan Opera.[17] The Metropolitan Opera transmitted the 18 November 2017 performance of the opera to cinemas worldwide as part of the Metropolitan Opera Live in HD series; that performance has subsequently been issued on DVD and was streamed online on 5 June, 15 November, and 10 December 2020.[18][19]
The opera received a new staging at the Paris Opera in 2024, in a revised version by Adès.[20]