In this period of Italian film history, the opera film was popular as audiences were desiring biopics of Italy's most famous composers. Italian film historian and critic Roberto Curti commented that "the lives of Verdi, Rossini, and Bellini offered not only entertainment, but also a reminder of the country's past glory as a popular antidote to the misery and squalor unearthed by
Neorealism." Director
Riccardo Freda was set-up with the subject of
Antônio Carlos Gomes, a Brazilian composer who was popular in Italy. His best known work was the opera
Il Guarany, based on the novel by
Jose de Alencar. The film was a production by Universalia Film, a
Catholic-oriented production company started in 1946. According to
Piero Regnoli, who was the company's vice artistic manager at the time, Universalia had "about one billion
lire at disposal-cash. It was the biggest production company [in Italy]." Freda was friends with
Salvo D'Angelo who was high up in the Universalia Film company, and stated he asked for a large sum of money to develop the film as he was uninterested in developing it, but was surprised when it was granted. Filming began on June 11, 1948 in
Rome and after one week, the crew moved to
Brazil to shoot on location there. ==Release and reception==