Starting from La Scala production of the opera, which premiered in January 1981, Zeffirelli created a TV film, shot mostly on the stage of Teatro alla Scala, and only for a small part on a sound stage. The female lead in the film, alongside Plácido Domingo and Juan Pons, was Teresa Stratas, who had recently triumphed at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York with "La Bohème", under Zeffirelli’s direction.