Yelena Samoylova

Russian opera artist (soprano), born Yelena Albertovna Tsabel or Zabel (Елена Альбертовна Цабель); known after her marriage as Yelena Albertovna Samoylova (Елена Альбертовна Самойлова).

Yelena Samoylova was the daughter of the German-born composer and harp player Albert Zabel (1834–1910), who settled in Russia during the 1850s. She trained in Paris with Désirée Artôt, before making her debut at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow on 7 November 1891.

Correspondence with Tchaikovsky

One letter from Tchaikovsky to Yelena Samoylova has survived, dating from 1891, and has been translated into English on this website:

• Letter 4538 – 8/20 November 1891, from Moscow.