The only portion of Merlin that Albéniz heard performed with full orchestra during his life was the opening prelude. The opera was performed by vocalists with piano accompaniment in 1905, but the full score languished until a truncated version with the text translated into Spanish was staged at the Tívoli Theatre in Barcelona on 18 December 1950. The complete opera with the original English libretto was premiered in concert form at the Auditorio nacional in Madrid on 20 June 1998, and a studio recording with Plácido Domingo singing the part of King Arthur was made in 2000, conducted by Albeniz-specialist conductor José de Eusebio. The success of the recording led to the first staging in its entirety in 2003, 101 years after its completion. It was premiered in Madrid's Teatro Real, with sets and scenography, conducted by José de Eusebio and directed by John Dew. On 11 October 2011, the opera had its first production in Germany, at the Musiktheater im Revier in Gelsenkirchen.
