Vera Zorina

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Vera Zorina (born January 2, 1917 - died April 9, 2003) was a ballerina, musical theatre actress and choreographer in both Europe and the United States.

Born as Eva Brigitta Hartwig in Berlin of Norwegian descent, Zorina was George Balanchine's second wife; they were married from 1938 to 1946. She danced in productions he choreographed, both on the stage and screen, including On Your Toes, a Broadway hit later adapted for the screen by Lawrence Riley.

She was also married to Goddard Lieberson from 1946 until his death on May 29, 1977, by whom she had two sons: Peter Lieberson, a composer, and Jonathan Lieberson. Her final marriage was to Paul Wolfe from 1991 until her death on April 9, 2003, aged 86.

According to an article in a 1939 news magazine, she crossed the Atlantic to the U.S. taking a whole luxury upper deck section of the ocean liner. Some reporting centred around scandalous nude sunbathing on the crossing.

Zorina was also associated with Arthur Honegger's Joan of Arc at the Stake, in which she played the title role in the first U.S. performance with the New York Philharmonic under Charles Münch on 1 January 1948. She subsequently played the role many times, notably in the recorded performance from the UK Royal Festival Hall in June 1966 with the London Symphony Orchestra under Seiji Ozawa.

[edit] Filmography

• Seine Freundin Annette (1930)
• The Goldwyn Follies (1938)
• On Your Toes (1939)
• I Was an Adventuress (1940)
• Louisiana Purchase (1941)
• Star Spangled Rhythm (1942)
• Follow the Boys (1944)
• Lover Come Back (1946)

[edit] External links

• Vera Zorina at the Internet Movie Database
• Photographs and literature