The opera was translated into French (Le dernier sauvage) by Jean-Pierre Marty for the work's first (private) performance at the Opéra-Comique in Paris on 21 October 1963, followed the next day by the public premiere.

Conductor Thomas Schippers led the Met cast, which included George London as Abdul, Roberta Peters as Kitty, Teresa Stratas as Sardula, Nicolai Gedda as Kodanda, Ezio Flagello as the Maharajah, Lili Chookasian as the Maharanee, and Morley Meredith as Scattergood.

Four months later, the work was first performed in the original Italian at La Fenice in Venice on 15 May 1964 with conductor Carlo Franci, John Reardon as Abdul, Helen Mané as Kitty, Maliponte as Sardula, Robleto Merolla as Kodanda, Angelo Nosotti as Scattergood, and Paolo Washington as the Marajah.

At that time avant-garde music was in vogue and critics felt Menotti's conservative style of composition was overly sentimental and trite, although a few of the arias and a septet in the work were generally praised.

[5] Menotti also directed a production in 1984 at the[6][7] this time starring baritone[8][circular reference] Louis Otey as Abdul and conducted by the late Baldo Podic.

Festival dei Due Mondi in Spoleto It was presented as part of the 2011 festival season by the Santa Fe Opera under conductor George Manahan directed by Ned Canty, with Anna Christy as Kitty, Daniel Okulitch as Abdul, Jennifer Zetlan as Sardula, Sean Panikkar as Kodanda, Thomas Hammons as the Maharajah, Jamie Barton as the Maharanee, and Kevin Burdette as Scattergood.

[9] Menotti reverts from the singing-speech of The Consul (derived according to the composer from Monteverdi) to reviving the means of the classical Italian comic opera of Cimarosa and Rossini, with recitative and aria, stanzas, and musical numbers.

The Opera critic noted a "charming" solo for the 'savage' with the refrain "Je ne suis pas jaloux", which was vitiated by a duet immediately following in similar vein and rhythm.