Considered one of Anfossi's best operas, it premiered at the Teatro San Moisè in Venice in the autumn season of 1775 and was subsequently performed throughout Italy and in other European cities.

[3] The performance was accompanied by a ballet, La serenata interrotta, o sia Il triplice matrimonio ("The Serenade Interrupted, or The Triple Wedding") with music by Francesco Piombanti and choreography by Antoine Pitrot.

[5] The opera was performed in Hanover and Bad Pyrmont in 1790 using a German translation of the libretto entitled Der Geizige oder Die Liebe ist sinnreich ("The Miser, or Love is Ingenious").

There was a French version entitled Le Tuteur avare ("The Miserly Tutor") with a very freely adapted libretto by Jean-Louis Gabiot and additional music composed by Giuseppe Maria Cambini.

[8][9] A different libretto by Giuseppe Palomba, also titled L'avaro and likewise based on the Molière play, was set by Giacomo Cordella and premiered in 1814 at the Teatro de' Fiorentini, Naples.