The U.S. premiere of "The Devils of Loudun", which was given by Santa Fe Opera in 1969, received more negative reviews than positive ones. A critic, who attended the performance, praised its staging but thought its music failed to support the issues or events occurring on stage. Another critic wrote that the music did not have the ability to hold drama for a long period of time. A different critic even thought that the music was more appropriate for soundtrack than an opera. Even with these criticisms, the opera received better reviews in the U.S. than in Europe. Especially, the staging in the U.S. praised over the staging in Europe.