Probably the greatest theatrical success of Luchino Visconti's career, which once again featured a cast made up exclusively of leading actors, to whom he assigned unexpected roles. The set design was a key strength of the production. For his third major work, Zeffirelli meticulously studied the designs of Russian theater and provided Visconti with a historically accurate setting that was equally rich in evocative suggestions. In a letter sent during the preparation of the production to Marcel Escoffier, who was designing the costumes, Zeffirelli wrote: "In the final act, that is, in the garden, the entire scene will be nothing but a transparency, where the outlines of objects, trees, houses, etc., will become barely perceptible, as if everything were now just a barely defined memory. What were the soft and bright colors of the first act will gradually dissolve into a world of lower, duller tones, until they blend together and lose all chromatic accent in the garden, which should give the impression of an old family photo forgotten in some drawer."
It was after this production that director Corrado Pavolini invited Zeffirelli to collaborate with the Teatro alla Scala, effectively launching his career as a set designer and opera director.