The distinguished theatre designer Rouben Ter-Arutunian began his creative career as a student of concert piano and art in Berlin, Vienna and Paris—worlds away from Tiflis, Russia, where he was born on July 24, 1920. His first costumes were for the Berlin State Opera Ballet in 1941. In 1951, Rouben moved to the U.S. and became a citizen in 1957.
He had his first Broadway credit the same year, as production designer on George Abbott's 1957 hit
New Girl in Town, starring Gwen Verdon. His 20 Broadway credits include production design for
Redhead (1959), scenic design for
Donnybrook! (1961), production design for
The Milk Train Doesn't Stop Here Anymore (1964), production design for
Ivanov (1966) and scenic design for what would be his last Broadway production,
Goodbye Fidel, in 1980.
Ter-Arutunian was nominated for five Tony Awards: scenic design of
Advise and Consent (1961), scenic design for
A Passage to India (1962), production design for
Arturo Ui (1964) and scenic design for
Goodtime Charley (1975). But it was
Redhead, directed by Bob Fosse and starring Gwen Verdon, that won Ter-Arutunian the 1959 Tony Award for best costume design.
His extensive design credits also include ballet and opera in the U.S. and around the world. He worked with many different choreographers and is especially well-known for his collaborations with George Balanchine on such ballets as
Harlequinade, Vienna Waltzes and
The Nutcracker. Ter-Arutunian's film credits include
The Loved One (1965) and
Such Good Friends (1971), and his TV credits include
The Taming of the Shrew (1956),
The Tempest (1960),
I Wish You Love: An Evening with Marlene Dietrich (1973) and
The CBS Festival of Lively Arts for Young People (1974). He won an Emmy for his art direction of a 1957 TV production of
Twelfth Night. He also served as the staff designer for the three major television networks and designed many variety shows and specials.
In 1997, the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts held an exhibition of his work, titled
Rouben Ter-Arutunian: A Working Collection. This special exhibit showcased his pioneering work in television design in the 1950s and in open-air and televised opera, as well as his better-known designs for Broadway and the ballet stage. Among the renderings and models selected for the show were the verdant forest that transforms into an art nouveau ballroom in George Balanchine's
Vienna Waltzes and the vivid, magical settings for the same choreographer's
The Nutcracker. This legendary production of the Tchaikovsky ballet, featuring Ter-Arutunian's glorious production design, was filmed in 1993, just a year after Ter-Arutunian died.