The work was commissioned by the Hamburg State Opera, which consequently gave the premiere on 20 June 1969. Only 48 hours afterwards, the opera received its second performance in Stuttgart, followed two months later by its American debut mounted by the Santa Fe Opera. The work was revised in 1972 following suggestions by Polish theatre director Kazimierz Dejmek. This added two new scenes, excluded a scene from the opera's first act, regrouped other scenes, and modified the first act's instrumentation. Finally, in 1975, Penderecki added two more scenes in the second act. Performances of "The Devils of Loudun" now generally follow this 1975 edition.