The Noblewoman Vera Sheloga (Russian: Боярыня Вера Шелога) is a 1898 one-act opera by Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov, a prequel to his earlier work The Maid of Pskov and based on the same play by Lev Mey as the latter.
Vera Sheloga and her sister Nadezhda Nasonova are waiting for their husband and fiancé, respectively, to return from campaign. Vera confesses to Nadezhda that her little daughter Olya is not her husband's child. As the two men suddenly arrive, Nadezhda, in a spur-of-the-moment decision to save her sister, acknowledges the baby as her own.
Tropes featured in the work:
- A Day in the Limelight: Vera Sheloga, Nadezhda Nasonova and to a lesser extent Ivan Sheloga get their own story told after being posthumous characters in The Maid of Pskov.
- Composite Character: In Lev Mey's play, the nanny of Vera and Olga was Perfilyevna, and Vlasyevna was another nanny and a more minor character. Here, Vlasyevna is, in succession, Vera's and Olga's nanny, and Perfilyevna barely appears in The Maid of Pskov as a background character.
- The Ghost: Vera's lover is mentioned but never appears onstage.
- Irony: Vera goes on a pilgrimage to the Pskov Caves Monastery and instead ends up committing adultery.
- No Name Given: Vera's lover is not actually named in the libretto, but, considering it's a prequel to The Maid of Pskov, it's an Open Secret he is Tsar Ivan the Terrible.
- Perfectly Arranged Marriage: Vera was married to Ivan Sheloga in an arranged marriage, but grew content with it – until Tsar Ivan came along.
- Rescue Romance: Vera fell in love with Tsar Ivan after he rescued her when she got lost in the woods.
- Sibling Team: Vera and Nadezhda love each other very much, and Nadezhda goes a long way to protect Vera.
- Suicide by Cop: Vera is so tormented by guilt over her adultery she plans to provoke her husband into killing her. Nadezhda talks her out of it.
- Taking the Heat: Nadezhda claims the baby is hers, which means that she has cheated on her fiancé.
- Theme Naming: The Nasonov sisters are named Vera and Nadezhda (Faith and Hope).
