Nadezhda Zabela‑Vrubel was a Russian opera singer. Born in Kovno into the family of a civil servant, she spent her childhood in Kyiv, where she studied at the Institute for Noble Maidens, and later entered the Saint Petersburg Conservatory. She trained under Natalia Iretskaya and later continued her studies in Paris with Mathilde Marchesi, performing in concerts with Anton Rubinstein. She began her stage career in Kyiv in 1893, and subsequently performed in Tiflis, Kharkiv, and St. Petersburg. In 1895-1896, she sang the role of Gretel in the first Russian production of Humperdinck’s “Hansel and Gretel”. The height of her artistic career came during her years at Savva Mamontov’s Moscow Private Opera (1897-1902). Nikolai Rimsky‑Korsakov greatly valued her talent and wrote new roles for her, including Marfa in “The Tsar’s Bride”, the Swan Princess in “The Tale of Tsar Saltan”, and the Princess of Incomparable Beauty in “Kashchey the Immortal”. Other roles in her repertoire included the Snow Maiden, Olga in “The Maid of Pskov” and others. In 1896, Zabela married the artist Mikhail Vrubel. He painted several portraits of her, and the image of the Swan Princess in his art is connected with her stage interpretation of the role. From 1904 to 1911, she was a member of the Mariinsky Theatre troupe, although she performed there infrequently. In her later years, she mainly appeared in concert programs, performing works by Russian composers, especially Rimsky‑Korsakov, who dedicated several romances to her. The online collection of the Bakhrushin Theatre Museum includes photographs of Nadezhda Zabela‑Vrubel, as well as costume designs and archival documents mentioning her.