| Iolanta | |
|---|---|
| Opera by Tchaikovsky | |
 Mikhailovsky Theatre, Saint Petersburg (2010) | |
| Native title | Russian: Иоланта |
| Librettist | Modest Tchaikovsky |
| Language | Russian |
| Based on | Kong Renés Datter by Henrik Hertz |
| Premiere | 18 December 1892 |
Iolanta, Op. 69, (Russian: Иоланта ) is a lyric opera in one act by Pyotr Tchaikovsky. It was the last opera he composed. The libretto was written by the composer's brother Modest Tchaikovsky, and is based on the Danish play Kong Renés Datter (King René's Daughter) by Henrik Hertz, a romanticised account of the life of Yolande de Bar. In the original Danish play, the spelling of the princess's name was "Iolanthe", later adopted for the otherwise unrelated Gilbert and Sullivan operetta of that name.[1] The play was translated by Fyodor Miller and adapted by Vladimir Zotov. The opera received its premiere on 18 December 1892 in Saint Petersburg.
- ^ Henry Irving had produced a version of King René's Daughter in 1880, in London, under the name Iolanthe, so Gilbert asked his producer, Richard D'Oyly Carte, to request Irving's permission to use the name. See Ainger, Michael. Gilbert and Sullivan – A Dual Biography, Oxford University Press (2002), p. 212; and Bradley, Ian. The Complete Annotated Gilbert and Sullivan, Oxford University Press (1996), p. 364