Ivan IV is an opera in five acts by Georges Bizet, with a libretto by Francois-Hippolyte Leroy and Henri Trianon.

[1] A libretto on the subject of Tsar Ivan IV "The Terrible" of Russia was offered to Charles Gounod in January 1856 by the general administrator of the Paris Opera, François Louis Crosnier.

The following summer, at the bidding of Léon Carvalho, director of the Théâtre Lyrique, Bizet started work on La jolie fille de Perth, and Ivan IV was forgotten.

Winton Dean floated a possible alternative chronology by suggesting that the surviving manuscript is an earlier abandoned version of Ivan, forgotten by the composer, not that which was being copied for performance in the autumn of 1865.

This theory would mean that Bizet composed Ivan the Terrible in late 1862 and early 1863 for performance in 1863 at the Baden festival (which he had visited with Hector Berlioz, Gounod and Ernest Reyer).

[4] When Choudens asserted their right to publish the score in 1943, Henri Büsser took over its preparation and, instead of following the almost complete manuscript, concocted his own 'performing version'.

[5] The libretto is typical of the Eugène Scribe school, dealing with the manipulation of often improbable stock dramatic situations, rather than musical characterisation.

In the 1970s a more faithful edition was prepared for the BBC, with previously cut material restored; this version was broadcast by the BBC in October 1975, with Bryden Thomson conducting a mainly UK-based cast, with John Noble in the title role, and Jeanette Scovotti and John Brecknock as Marie and Igor;[9] this studio recording was issued on unofficial records.

A live recording of this version, now adopted by Choudens, was made in March 2002 conducted by Michael Schønwandt and issued by Naïve.

Following a premiere production of the full five-act version in St Petersburg in December 2022, the same version was produced at the Staatstheater in Meiningen in February 2023 conducted by Philippe Bach with Tomasz Wija in the title role and Alex Kim, Mercedes Arcuri and Paul Gay among the cast.

Ivan has regained his senses and enters, and when the bell announcing death of a tsar tolls, they both rush off to the palace.

Bizet re-used some music from earlier pieces and also recycled other sections in later works: A complete BBC broadcast in the Bizet centenary year featured John Noble in the title role, Jeanette Scovotti, John Brecknock, Patricia Kern, with orchestra and chorus conducted by Bryden Thomson and included commentary by Winton Dean and all the versions of the war song;[11] it was later made available by the Oriel Music Trust.