The world premiere, which was given at the Hamburg State Opera on 20 June 1969, received mixed reviews. However, the general consensus among critics was that the work was not a huge success. A critic, who saw the world premiere performance of the work in Hamburg, wrote that the various sounds effects (i.e. cries, laughter, roars, etc.), large glissandons in orchestra, tone clusters, and pitches at extreme ends of instruments' ranges were used merely to produce atmosphere instead of creating a dramatic effect. After seeing a Hamburg production of the opera, another critic even questioned whether Penderecki was truly interested in the piece. Positive reviews of the production were mostly on the libretto's intriguing nature.