The Pennsylvania Opera Theater gave the world premiere in a concert version at the Philadelphia College of the Performing Arts's Theatre 313[b] on November 19, 1980.

Hawthorne's Gothic story about a doctor whose work with poisons has made his daughter's touch deadly has inspired several operas including The Garden of Mystery (Charles Wakefield Cadman, 1925); The Poisoned Kiss, or The Empress and the Necromancer (Ralph Vaughan Williams, 1936); and La hija de Rappaccini (Daniel Catán, 1991).

"[7] Garwood also observed "the problem of how to bring out certain twentieth-century psychological insights implicit in the story without ruining the particular nineteenth-century flavor of the work.

[8] Barbara Silverstein, artistic director of the company, found Garwood's music to be "passionately lyrical, melodic, and accessible.

[11] Kay Walker directed Cary Michaels as Giovanni, Heather McCormick as Beata, James Butler as Dr. Rappaccini, Harriet Harris as Lisabetta the landlady, and Gregory Powell as Professor Baglione.

[10] In the concert version, Garwood's work was praised in Opera, Max De Schauensee writing of "fluently melodic" music in a "colorful evening" with "fresh voices.

There is no chorus, and the orchestration is strings, pairs of winds (including some interesting color instruments such as a contrabassoon and bass clarinet), percussion, and harp.

"[13] Ashbrook faulted Garwood for not cutting through more of Hawthorne's "tangled allegory with its cumbersome symbolism and ornate 19th century diction," while praising the singers and the production design.

[14] The review in The New York Times was more favorable, observing "the composer has captured the lure of the garden in her music and tamed the dangers of the subject with an intelligently made libretto.

[3] The cast was Michael Ballam as Giovanni, Jean Bradel as Beata, Ralph Bassett as Dr. Rappaccini, Jeanne Haughn as Lisabetta, and Barry Ellison as Professor Baglione.