Prologue The Noblewoman Vera Sheloga
Nobleman Ivan Sheloga of Pskov has gone to war. His wife, Vera, gave birth to daughter Olga in his absence. Vera’s sister, Nadezhda, discusses with her nanny Vlasevna why her beautiful sister is so gloomy and sad. They talk of Nadezhda’s fiancé, Prince Yuri Tokmakov, returning home soon. They hear Vera singing a lullaby to her daughter. While the baby is asleep, the woman reveals a terrible secret to her sister – her baby is not her husband’s daughter. She is ready to hand him an axe to atone for her sin. Vera tells the story of how she went to pray to the Pechersky Monastery and got lost, how she could not refuse the advances of her saviour, “one of the boyars,” whom she fell in love with, how he left her and married Nastasya Romanova. They hear horn calls. Ivan Sheloga enters with Prince Tokmakov. Vera is confused and asks him not to hurt her child. Her bewildered husband asks whose baby is that. Nadezhda falls to her knees and screams: “Mine!”
