Zarah Leander's character Katharina Alexandrowna Murakina is very loosely based on Nadeschda Filaretowna von Meck, who was a friend of Tchaikovski, not a romantic partner of him, as in the movie. Like in the movie Von Meck supported Tchaikovski financially and he also wrote music for her. She died a few months after Tchaikovski in January 1894.
A proposed Russian state-financed biopic titled "Tchaikovsky" was announced in August 2013, with its eventual release scheduled in 2015. Reportedly, it will not address or include any reference to the composer's homosexuality, just like this Nazi-era German film. The screenplay was set to be written by Yuriy Arabov, but the project eventually fell through.
Even though Tchaikovsky's homosexuality is a matter of historical record, this film portrays him caught up in a love triangle with two women.
The film was a box office hit when first released in Germany, but was banned after Hitler invaded the Soviet Union in 1941 due to its positive portrayal of Russia and Russian culture.
Finnish censorship visa # 023041.