Vera Zorina

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Lore & Background

Zorina was born in Berlin, Germany, on January 2, 1917. Her father Fritz Hartwig was a German lapsed Roman Catholic, and her mother Abigail Johanne Wimpelmann (known as Billie Hartwig) was Norwegian and Lutheran. Both were professional singers. She was brought up in Kristiansund, a small coastal town between Trondheim and Molde, where she debuted as a dancer at the local theatre, Festiviteten. She received her education at the Lyceum for Girls in Berlin and was trained in dance by Olga Preobrajenska and Nicholas Legat. At age 12, she was presented to Max Reinhardt, who cast her in A Midsummer Night's Dream (1929) and Tales of Hoffmann (1931). A performance at London's Gaiety Theatre won her an invitation to join the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo in 1933, at which time she was obliged to adopt the stage name of Vera Zorina. The company wanted only Russian names. She was given a list of 20 and chose the last one because she could pronounce it. A few years later, she attained a lead role in the London production of On Your Toes (1937), choreography by her husband George Balanchine. American film producer Samuel Goldwyn saw it and signed her to a seven-year film contract. She appeared in seven Hollywood movies between 1938 and 1946. Zorina lost the role of Maria in the 1943 film adaptation of For Whom the Bell Tolls to Ingrid Bergman after only two weeks of shooting, due to her appearance not fitting the role. One of her major stage roles was in the 1938 Rodgers and Hart musical I Married an Angel. As the title character, she played an angel who descended from heaven to marry a Hungarian banker played by Dennis King, whose complete lack of human guile presented him with a whole new set of problems. In 1945, she had great success as Ariel in William Shakespeare's The Tempest at the Alvin Theatre (which became the Neil Simon Theatre) on Broadway. Starting in 1948, Zorina appeared in Arthur Honegger's Joan of Arc at the Stake, playing the title role in the first American performance with the New York Philharmonic under Charles Münch. She subsequently commanded the role many times, including the recording at the Royal Festival Hall in June 1966, with the London Symphony Orchestra under Seiji Ozawa. In 1968, she directed Cabaret at the Oslo Nye Teater to great acclaim. Her farewell performance was in Perséphone with New York City Ballet in 1982. In the 1970s, Vera Zorina was appointed director of the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet (Den Norske Opera & Ballet), but withdrew before she settled in because of her husband's illness. She was active with Lincoln Center as an adviser and director and, for several seasons, directed operas at the Santa Fe Opera in New Mexico. In 1986, she completed Zorina, her autobiography.

Reader's Guide

Vera Zorina's significance lies in her multifaceted career as a dancer, actress, and choreographer, bridging European ballet and American musical theatre and film. Her collaborations with George Balanchine, both as his wife and artistic partner, produced iconic sequences such as Slaughter on Tenth Avenue and films like The Goldwyn Follies, which brought Balanchine's choreography to a wide audience. Zorina's stage work, including her acclaimed performance as Ariel in The Tempest and her long association with Arthur Honegger's Joan of Arc at the Stake, demonstrated her dramatic range. Her later roles as director of the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet (though she withdrew) and as an adviser at Lincoln Center and the Santa Fe Opera highlight her influence beyond performance. Her autobiography, Zorina, provides a personal account of her life and times. Zorina's legacy endures as a key figure in the integration of ballet into popular entertainment and as a pioneering female director in opera and theatre.

Did You Know?

• Zorina was born Eva Brigitta Hartwig and adopted the stage name Vera Zorina when she joined the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo in 1933; the company wanted only Russian names, so she chose from a list of 20 and picked the last one because she could pronounce it.
• She lost the role of Maria in the 1943 film adaptation of For Whom the Bell Tolls to Ingrid Bergman after only two weeks of shooting, because her appearance did not fit the role.
• In 1968, she directed Cabaret at the Oslo Nye Teater to great acclaim.
• Zorina was a devout Catholic and Oblate of the Benedictine Order.
• Her farewell performance was in Perséphone with New York City Ballet in 1982.