 Since 1862 Bizet had been working intermittently on Ivan IV , an opera based on the life of Ivan the Terrible . Carvalho failed to deliver on his promise to produce it , so in December 1865 Bizet offered it to the Opéra , which rejected it ; the work remained unperformed until 1946 . In July 1866 Bizet signed another contract with Carvalho , for La jolie fille de Perth , the libretto for which , by J.H. Vernoy de Saint @-@ Georges after Sir Walter Scott , is described by Bizet 's biographer Winton Dean as " the worst Bizet was ever called upon to set " . Problems over the casting and other issues delayed its premiere for a year before it was finally performed by the Théâtre Lyrique on 26 December 1867 . Its press reception was more favourable than that for any of Bizet 's other operas ; Le Ménestral 's critic hailed the second act as " a masterpiece from beginning to end " . Despite the opera 's success , Carvalho 's financial difficulties meant a run of only 18 performances . 
