Violetta Elvin ( Prokhorova; 3 November 1923 – 27 May 2021) was a Russian prima ballerina and actress. In 1986, ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ...

'' described Elvin as "the only rival ever to give Dame

Margot Fonteyn Dame Margaret Evelyn de Arias DBE (''née'' Hookham; 18 May 191921 February 1991), known by the stage name Margot Fonteyn, was an English ballerina. She spent her entire career as a dancer with the Royal Ballet (formerly the Sadler's Wells ...

a run for her money".

Early life

Elvin was born on 3 November 1923 in Moscow, and graduated from the

Moscow State Dance School Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million re ...

in 1942. She was the daughter of Irena Grimouzinskaya, an actor and artist, and Vassilie Prokhorov, an aviation pioneer.

Career

Elvin was only 20 when she had already danced the leads in

Swan Lake ''Swan Lake'' ( rus, Лебеди́ное о́зеро, r=Lebedínoye ózero, p=lʲɪbʲɪˈdʲinəjə ˈozʲɪrə, link=no ), Op. 20, is a ballet composed by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875–76. Despite its initial failur ...

Marius Petipa Marius Ivanovich Petipa (russian: Мариус Иванович Петипа), born Victor Marius Alphonse Petipa (11 March 1818), was a French ballet dancer, pedagogue and choreographer. Petipa is one of the most influential ballet masters and ...

Don Quixote is a Spanish epic novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts, in 1605 and 1615, its full title is ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'' or, in Spanish, (changing in Part 2 to ). A founding work of Wester ...

, and The Fountain of Bakhchisarai with the State Ballet of

Tashkent Tashkent (, uz, Toshkent, Тошкент/, ) (from russian: Ташкент), or Toshkent (; ), also historically known as Chach is the capital and largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of ...

. From 1951 to 1956 she was a prima ballerina of

Sadler's Wells Sadler's Wells Theatre is a performing arts venue in Clerkenwell, London, England located on Rosebery Avenue next to New River Head. The present-day theatre is the sixth on the site since 1683. It consists of two performance spaces: a 1,500-se ...

Ballet, now

The Royal Ballet The Royal Ballet is a British internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, England. The largest of the five major ballet companies in Great Britain, the Royal Ballet was founded ...

, before retiring and moving to Italy.

Personal life

In 1945, she met and married British architect Harold Elvin in Moscow, and was allowed to leave the USSR. On the journey, she played chess with

Dimitri Shostakovich Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich, , group=n (9 August 1975) was a Soviet-era Russian composer and pianist who became internationally known after the premiere of his First Symphony in 1926 and was regarded throughout his life as a major compo ...

. They divorced in 1952. In 1953, she married the American impresario Siegbert Weinberger, but this also ended in divorce. In 1959, she married Fernando Savarese, an Italian lawyer who also managed the family hotel on the Sorrento peninsula. They had a son, Antonio "Toti" in 1960. A

biographical novel The biographical novel is a genre of novel which provides a fictional account of a contemporary or historical person's life. Like other forms of biographical fiction, details are often trimmed or reimagined to meet the artistic needs of the ficti ...

about Elvin, written by Raffaele Lauro, titled ''Dance The Love - A Star in Vico Equense'', was presented in

Vico Equense Vico Equense is a coastal town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Naples, in southern Italy. Geography Vico Equense is part of the greater Bay of Naples metropolitan area and is a tourist destination. Located on a tuff cliff, it is ...

, in a national première, on 27 July 2016, within the Social World Film Festival - International Exhibition of Social Cinema. Raffaele Lauro, also co-authored the volume, "Dance The Love - A Star in Vico Equense. Images - Testimonies", GoldenGate Edizioni, 2016 with Riccardo Piroddi, . Elvin died in May 2021 at the age of 97.E' morta Donna Violetta, il sindaco: "Aveva una grazia e una dolcezza uniche"
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Repertoire

* ''

'' * ''

'' * '' The Fountain of Bakhchisarai'' * '' The Sleeping Beauty'' * ''

Ballet Imperial ''Tschaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 2'', also titled ''Ballet Imperial'', is a ballet choreographed by George Balanchine to Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 2 (Tchaikovsky), Piano Concerto No. 2. ''Ballet Imperial'' was choreographed for American B ...

'' * '' The Three-Cornered Hat'' * ''

Birthday Offering ''Birthday Offering'' is a pièce d'occasion in one scene choreographed by Frederick Ashton to music by Alexander Glazunov, arranged by Robert Irving. The ballet was created in 1956, to celebrate the Royal Ballet's 25th anniversary. The first p ...

'' * ''

Cinderella "Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...

'' * ''

Daphnis et Chloé ''Daphnis et Chloé'' is a 1912 ''symphonie chorégraphique'', or choreographic symphony, for orchestra and wordless chorus by Maurice Ravel. It is in three main sections, or ''parties'', and a dozen scenes, most of them dances, and lasts just u ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Elvin, Violetta 1923 births 2021 deaths Dancers from Moscow Prima ballerinas Principal dancers of The Royal Ballet Russian ballerinas Soviet ballerinas