Nadezhda Ivanovna Zabela-Vrubel (Russian: Надежда Ивановна Забела-Врубель 1 April [O.S. 20 March] 1868 in Kovno – 4 July [O.S. 21 June] 1913 in Saint Petersburg) was an Imperial Russianopera singer, the niece of the Russian sculptor Parmen Zabela. Vocally, she is best described as a lyrical (coloratura) soprano, with a particularly high tessitura.
Mikhail Vrubel: Nadezhda Zabela-Vrubel – as the Swan Princess 1900
Mikhail Vrubel: Portrait of Nadezhda Zabela-Vrubel, 1904
Quotations
"Always so reasonable and sober-minded, Rimsky-Korsakov fell head over heels in love with Nadezhda. Marriage was out of the question, though, because he had a talented and very intelligent wife and growing up kids in St.Petersburg and Nadezhda was married to the outstanding Russian artist Mikhail Vrubel. For many years Nadezhda Zabela-Vrubel and her inimitable voice inspired the composer to write a whole constellation of beautiful arias that immortalized Rimsky-Korsakov’s name and also that of the woman he loved so much..." (Musical Tales)
Bibliography
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov – Pимский-Корсаков Н.А., Летопись моей музыкальной жизни, 7 изд., М., 1955 (in Russian)
Rimsky-Korsakov, A. N. – Pимскии-Коpсаков А. Н., Н. А. Римский-Корсаков. Жизнь и творчество, вып. 4, М., 1937. с. 117-23, 153-70; (in Russian)
Yankovsky, M.. – Янковский М., Н. И. Забела М.- Л., 1953. (in Russian)