Ruta Syldorf was a dancer and primaballerina of the Wrocław Opera House.
She was born on January 22, 1934 in Berlin. She studied dance at Tatiana Gsowska’s school in Berlin. In 1947, she moved to Poland, where she studied for two years at the Wrocław Opera.
She began performing in 1946. From 1948 to 1994, she worked at the Wrocław Opera House, including as the first ballet soloist.
Her most important roles include: Maria (The Fountain of Bakhchisaray), Cinderella (Cinderella), Juliet (Romeo and Juliet), Chloe (Daphnis and Chloe), Raymonda (Raymonda), The Most Beautiful (Master Twardowski), Demna (Demna, Priestess of Fire), Giselle (Giselle), Odette-Odile (Swan Lake), Joan of Arc (Joan of Arc), Viola (Kidnapping in Tyutiurlistan), Swanhilda (Coppelia), Black Queen (Checkmate), Kitri (Don Quixote), Masha (The Nutcracker), Zore (Song of Longing), Esmeralda (The Bellringer of Notre-Dame), Zobeide (Scheherazade), Mannequin (The Enchantment), Bride (The Wedding in Ojców), Bride (Harnasie), Statue (The Sculptures of Master Peter), Aegina (Spartacus).
Syldorf also appeared in the acting cast of the film On the Other Side of the Rainbow (1972).
In 1960, she won second prize at the International Dance Competition in Vercelli (in a duet with Bronisław Kropidłowski). In 1965, she received the Badge of the Builder of the City of Wrocław. In 1972, she was awarded the Golden Spire prize.
She died on July 27, 2007. She was buried at the Grabiszyn municipal cemetery in Wrocław.
Photos:
Pictured: Ruta Syldorf as Cinderella in the ballet “Cinderella” to the music of Sergei Prokofiev, premiere: January 16, 1959, photo: Stefan Arczyński / Wrocław Opera House
Pictured: Ruta Syldorf in the title role in the ballet “Giselle,” set to music by Adolphe Adam, premiere: December 12, 1959, photo by Witold Golian / Wrocław Opera House
Bibliography:
Encyklopedia Teatru Polskiego / Ruta Syldorf-Warlińska, https://encyklopediateatru.pl/osoby/13539/ruta-syldorf-warlinska, [accessed January 22, 2024].
Internetowa Baza Filmu Polskiego/ Ruta Syldorf, https://filmpolski.pl/fp/index.php?osoba=118938, [accessed January 22, 2024].
Irena Turska, Almanach baletu polskiego 1945–1974, Polskie Wydawnictwo: Muzyczne, Kraków 1983.
Tacjanna Wysocka, Dzieje baletu, Państwowy Instytut Wydawniczy, Warszawa 1970, p. 487.
