Ter-Arutunian, Rouben, 1920-

Rouben Ter-Arutunian, set and costume designer. His entire career was in the United States.

Rouben Ter-Arutunian, set and costume designer whose entire career was in the United States.

Rouben Ter-Arutunian, set and costume designer.

Rouben Ter-Arutunian (1920-1992) was a scenic and costume designer whose work was represented in ballet, opera, theater, and television. He was born in Russia and educated at the Reimann Schule, Berlin and in Paris. His first opera production was The Bartered Bride for the Dresden Opera in 1942. Two years later, he designed the Vienna Opera's production of Salome. Following World War II, he worked for the Special Services of the United States Third Army in Bavaria and Heidelberg as a designer. He immigrated to the United States in 1951 and became a citizen in 1957.

His first major work in the United States was for the American Shakespeare Festival in Stratford, Connecticut in 1956. While acting as a designer for the festival, he designed costumes and scenery for King John, Measure for Measure and The Taming of the Shrew among many others. He also designed the permanent stage at the festival.

Ter-Arutunian's work for the Broadway stage included New Girl in Town, Advise and Consent, and A Passage to India. He won the 1959 Tony Award for Best Costume Design for the musical Redhead, and was nominated for the Tony Award three times for Scenic Design and once more for Costume Design. Television provided another showcase for Ter-Arutunian's talent. Among his televised design credits are Noah and the Flood (1962), the Hallmark Hall of Fame's Twelfth Night, The Taming of the Shrew, and The Tempest. He also designed sets and costumes for NBC's Opera Theatre.

Ter-Arutunian's assignments for the operatic stage include productions for the Hamburg Opera, the San Francisco Opera, The Los Angeles Civic Light Opera and the New York City Opera. He also designed Pelleas and Melisande for the 1966 Spoletto Festival.

Ter-Arutunian was most famous for his productions for the ballet stage such as the New York City Ballet's Souvenirs, The Seven Deadly Sins, Swan Lake, Ballet Imperial, Harliquinade and The Nutcracker. He also designed for the American Ballet Theatre, The Harkness Ballet, The San Francisco Ballet, The Pennsylvania Ballet, The Robert Joffrey Ballet, Martha Graham, and the Paul Taylor Dance Company.

In the 1970s and 1980s Ter-Arutunian's costume and set designs were exhibited in galleries, museums, and libraries. He resided in New York City until his death in 1992.