The premiere by the Ensemble Modern took place on April 2, 1989 at the Alte Oper Frankfurt, a few days before Chaplin's 100th birthday. The Chaplin operas are now regarded as a milestone in the history of the re-scoring of silent films and, following their Frankfurt premiere, were heard in Dresden, Cologne, Perm, Baden-Baden, Amsterdam, Essen, Salzburg and Strasbourg.
