Concerning the 1996 pre-premiere of the semi-staged final draft, with piano accompaniment, "The New York Times" claimed it had "an accessible, attractively lyrical score" and that, "Sarah has a gorgeous, Ravelian aria at the start of the second act." The 1998 premiere of the completed work was also well reviewed: The "Opera News" claimed "the opera bubbles with glorious vocal writing" and the best parts were the duets between Patience and Sarah, but that Parson Peel's music actually stole the show.