First performed at the Château de Chambord on 14 September, and repeated on the 16th, 20th and 21st, the play was performed three more times at Saint-Germain on 9, 11 and 13 November. The expenses were considerable, but fortunately for Molière the success was complete: six performances in December, twenty-eight the following year, when it was printed for the first time by Pierre Le Monnier — the first edition being of extreme rarity — and eight in 1672. For the single performance of 5 December, receipts reached a record 1,634 livres 10 sols.
Lully played the role of the Mufti, and Molière that of Monsieur Jourdain. “Le Bourgeois gentilhomme always enjoyed the King’s favor, and long after Molière’s death, Dangeau’s journal tells us that Louis XIV had the comedy performed with its music and was delighted by it every time.”
A.-J. Guibert, Bibliographie des œuvres de Molière publiées au XVIIe siècle.