Maria Litto

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Maria Litto (born September 10, 1919 in Ovenhausen , today in Höxter , † October 25, 1996 in Hamburg ) was a German actress and dancer .

Life

The daughter of the waiter Ludwig Litto and his wife Wilhelmine, nee Walter, spent her childhood with her sister Tilde in Essen and since 1927 back in Höxter, where the father ran a restaurant. Maria attended elementary school in Höxter and then the girls' high school in Holzminden .

Although already 16 years old, she learned ballet dance at the “Carus” dance school in Holzminden and from the age of 18 at the Folkwang school in Essen . She received her first engagement at the Stadttheater Wuppertal and was a member of the ensemble there for two years. In 1941 she went to Berlin , became a solo dancer and from 1944 was prima ballerina at the opera house in Berlin.

In 1942 she made her film debut. For a long time she only got very small roles, like that of a student in Die Feuerzangenbowle next to Heinz Rühmann . After the war, she first drew attention to herself in the film with dance interludes. In 1951 she took on the title role in the musical comedy The Veiled Maja (with Madelon Truss and others). Even Queen of the Arena (1952) and The Flower of Hawaii (1953) were all lined up on it.

On November 10, 1954, Maria Litto received a contract with the Hamburg State Opera . In 1955 she embodied the snake in the world premiere of Werner Egk's opera Irische Legende and played in Richard Strauss ' opera Salome in a guest appearance at the Milan scale . She gave further stage appearances in the ballet The Wonderful Mandarin and in September 1956 in The Angel of Montparnasse in the Little Comedy in Hamburg. After the Ballet Formender Wille , the musical Fanny followed in the Thalia Theater in Hamburg. In the late 1960s she also appeared at the Metropolitan Opera in New York.

In the sixties, Maria Litto increasingly took on the role of choreographer. Together with her dance partner and husband Heinz Schmiedel , she studied numerous TV ballet performances. In the film she was seen in a few supporting roles. In three Edgar Wallace films , she played somewhat disreputable half-world ladies . In 1970 she played the leading role in the television series " Tournee - A ballet dances around the world" as ballet master Maria. Edith Schultze-Westrum , Gerhart Lippert , Albert Venohr and Harry Wüstenhagen played at her side in other leading roles .

Maria Litto was married to the Swiss Heinz Erzinger from April 1945 to 1951. On June 30, 1958, she married her long-time dance partner Heinz Schmiedel. After his sudden death on December 3, 1978, she rarely appeared in public.

Filmography (selection)

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Litto, Maria
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German actress and dancer
DATE OF BIRTH September 10, 1919
PLACE OF BIRTH Ovenhausen (now part of Höxter )
DATE OF DEATH October 25, 1996
Place of death Hamburg , Federal Republic of Germany