The original opera was written in one act and used an English libretto by Albéniz's patron and collaborator, the Englishman Francis Money-Coutts, which is based on the novel of the same name by Juan Valera.

[1] The first of the composer's three versions of Pepita Jiménez was written in Paris during 1895 and performed as a one-act opera using an Italian translation of the original English libretto by Angelo Bignotti [it].

[1] During 1896 an expanded, two-act version was finished and, in preparation for a production at the Deutsches Landestheater in Prague, published by Breitkopf & Härtel in a German translation by Oskar Berggruen.

[1] Continuing to live in Paris, Albéniz, who was primarily a pianist, was more and more influenced by French composers, in particular Paul Dukas, who tutored him in orchestration.

Pablo Sorozábal, a well-known zarzuela composer, changed it into a three-act tragedy with the heroine committing suicide at the end due to a broken heart.

Sorozábal’s version was performed at the Teatro de la Zarzuela in Madrid on 6 June 1964, with Pilar Lorengar as Pepita and Alfredo Kraus as Don Luis.

[4] A new critical edition by Borja Marino (based on the 1897 version) was premiered on 28 October 2012 at the Teatro Argentino de La Plata, Argentina, with Nicola Beller Carbone as Pepita and Enrique Ferrer as Don Luis, conducted by Manuel Coves and directed by Calixto Bieito.

Pepita is sought by many suitors, including Count Genazahar, who owes her money, and Don Pedro de Vargas, a highly respected and prosperous member of the community.

Though at first surprised by this revelation, Don Pedro swallows his own feelings for Pepita and decides to help along the young couple's romance with the aid of Antoñona.