Violetta Elvin

Violetta Elvin (née Prokhorova; 3 November 1923 – 27 May 2021) was a Russian prima ballerina and actress. In 1986, The Times described Elvin as "the only rival ever to give Dame Margot Fonteyn a run for her money".^[1]

Violetta Elvin
Born	Violetta Vassilievna Prokhorova (1923-11-03)3 November 1923 Moscow, Russia
Died	27 May 2021(2021-05-27) (aged 97)
Occupation(s)	Prima ballerina, actress
Spouse(s)	Harold Elvin Siegbert Weinberger Fernando Savarese
Children	1 son

Early life

Elvin was born on 3 November 1923^[2] in Moscow, and graduated from the Moscow State Dance School in 1942. She was the daughter of Irena Grimouzinskaya, an actor and artist, and Vassilie Prokhorov, an aviation pioneer.^[2]

Career

Elvin was only 20 when she had already danced the leads in Swan Lake, Marius Petipa's Don Quixote, and The Fountain of Bakhchisarai with the State Ballet of Tashkent.^[3]

From 1951 to 1956 she was a prima ballerina of Sadler's Wells Ballet, now The Royal Ballet, before retiring and moving to Italy.^[1][4]

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.^[3] They divorced in 1952.^[2] In 1953, she married the American impresario Siegbert Weinberger, but this also ended in divorce.^[2]

In 1959, she married Fernando Savarese, an Italian lawyer who also managed the family hotel on the Sorrento peninsula.^[2] They had a son, Antonio "Toti" in 1960.^[2]

A biographical novel about Elvin, written by Raffaele Lauro, titled Dance The Love - A Star in Vico Equense,^[5][6][7] was presented in Vico Equense, in a national première, on 27 July 2016, within the Social World Film Festival - International Exhibition of Social Cinema.^{[8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16]}

Raffaele Lauro, also co-authored the volume, "Dance The Love - A Star in Vico Equense. Images - Testimonies", GoldenGate Edizioni, 2016 with Riccardo Piroddi, .^[17]

Elvin died in May 2021 at the age of 97.^[18]

Repertoire

• Swan Lake
• Don Quixote
• The Fountain of Bakhchisarai
• The Sleeping Beauty
• Ballet Imperial
• The Three-Cornered Hat
• Birthday Offering
• Cinderella
• Daphnis et Chloé

References

1. "Happy Birthday: Violetta Elvin, 87". The Times. Retrieved 25 June 2013.
2. Cruickshank, Judith (6 June 2021). "Violetta Elvin obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
3. . Ballet Magazine. Archived from the original on 1 April 2014. Retrieved 25 June 2013.
4. "Embassy Highlights". The Montreal Gazette. Retrieved 25 June 2013.
5. . Caruso The Song. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
6. "THE NEXT NOVEL (2016) | Caruso The Song - Lucio Dalla e Sorrento". Caruso The Song. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
7. "Dance The Love - Una Stella A Vico Equense". YouTube. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
8. "Dance The Love - A Star in Vico Equense | dancethelove - Una stella a Vico Equense". raffaelelauro.it. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
9. "THE LOVE OF FREEDOM, THE ART OF DANCE AND THE EXTRAORDINARY NATURAL BEAUTY OF VICO EQUENSE IN THE NEW NOVEL BY RAFFAELE LAURO, "DANCE THE LOVE - A STAR IN VICO EQUENSE", TO BE PRESENTED AT THE NATIONAL PREMIÈRE ON 27TH JULY 2016 IN VICO EQUENSE". raffaelelauro.it. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
10. "LAURO EXPRESSES TO VIOLETTA ELVIN HIS GREAT AFFECTIONATE COMMOTION FOR THE PASSING OF THE GREAT BALLET DANCER, CHOREOGRAPHER AND MAESTRO, ZARKO PREBIL. PREBIL WILL BE COMMEMORATED BY LAURO ON 27TH JULY IN VICO EQUENSE". raffaelelauro.it. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
11. "Vico Equense (27/7/2016). Presentazione "Dance The Love - Una stella a Vico Equense" - YouTube". youtube.com. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
12. "Presentazione "Dance The Love - Una stella a Vico Equense"". youtube.com. 27 July 2016. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
13. "TGR Campania (30/7/2016). Presentazione "Dance The Love - Una stella a Vico Equense" - YouTube". youtube.com. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
14. "Vico Equense: "Dance The Love - Una stella a Vico Equense" di Raffaele Lauro - YouTube". youtube.com. 27 July 2016. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
15. "Con "Dance The Love" Raffaele Lauro conclude la trilogia dedicata alla Penisola. Video | Politica in Penisola". politicainpenisola.it. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
16. "VICO EQUENSE (27 JULY 2016) THE CHURCHYARD OF THE CHURCH OF THE HOLIEST ANNUNCIATION THE PRESENTATION OF THE LATEST NOVEL OF "THE SORRENTINE TRILOGY" BY RAFFAELE LAURO, "DANCE THE LOVE - A STAR IN VICO EQUENSE" THE SUMMARY OF SPEECHES BY ANTONINO SINISCALCHI, ANDREA BUONOCORE, GIUSEPPE ALESSIO NUZZO, SALVATORE FERRARO, ANGELA BARBA, RAFFAELE LAURO AND VIOLETTA ELVIN". raffaelelauro.it. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
17. Mauro Siniscalchi. "Raffaele Lauro". raffaelelauro.it. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
18. E' morta Donna Violetta, il sindaco: "Aveva una grazia e una dolcezza uniche"

External links

• Violetta Elvin at IMDb
• Portraits of Violetta Elvin at the National Portrait Gallery, London