The ballerina who chose her stage name from a list of twenty Russian options
In short: Born Eva Brigitta Hartwig, this German-Norwegian performer became a Hollywood star under the name Vera Zorina. Forced to adopt a Russian identity to join the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, she eventually graced Broadway and the silver screen, leaving a legacy that spanned from classical dance to opera direction.
Born in Berlin in 1917, Eva Brigitta Hartwig began her artistic journey in the small Norwegian town of Kristiansund. Her early training under masters like Olga Preobrajenska and Nicholas Legat paved the way for a career that defied simple categorization. By age twelve, she was working with director Max Reinhardt, and by 1933, she had joined the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. Because the company insisted on Russian stage names, she selected 'Vera Zorina' from a list of twenty possibilities simply because she found it pronounceable.
Zorina's career reached new heights through her collaboration with choreographer George Balanchine, whom she married in 1938. Their partnership produced iconic works like the Broadway hit On Your Toes. Her transition to film was swift after producer Samuel Goldwyn signed her to a seven-year contract. Between 1938 and 1946, she featured in seven motion pictures, including Louisiana Purchase and The Goldwyn Follies. However, her path was not without setbacks; she was famously replaced by Ingrid Bergman in the 1943 film For Whom the Bell Tolls because her appearance did not align with the production's vision for the character Maria.
Beyond the screen, Zorina remained a formidable stage presence. She earned acclaim as Ariel in The Tempest in 1945 and later became a central figure in American performances of Arthur Honegger's Joan of Arc at the Stake. Her later years were marked by a shift toward directing, including work at the Santa Fe Opera and the Oslo Nye Teater. A devout Catholic and Benedictine Oblate, she balanced her artistic life with a commitment to her faith until her death in 2003 at the age of 86.
Her personal life was equally storied. Following her divorce from Balanchine in 1946, she married Columbia Records president Goddard Lieberson, with whom she had two sons. Her life remained deeply intertwined with the arts, from her final marriage to harpsichordist Paul Wolfe to her role as a grandmother to the musicians of the band TEEN. Her autobiography, published in 1986, serves as a final testament to a life that moved fluidly between the worlds of dance, theater, and opera.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Vera Zorina
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