In memoriam: Đurđica LudvigBallet — 03. August 2026.
It is with deep sorrow that we announce that Đurđica Ludvig, a long-serving soloist of the HNK Ballet in Zagreb, passed away today, 3 August 2026.
Đurđica Ludvig was born on 9 April 1933 in Sisak. She began studying ballet as a four-year-old child under Mercedes Goritz Pavelić at Dječje carstvo, and later under Olga Orlova and Margarita Froman. In 1949 she became a member of the HNK Ballet ensemble in Zagreb, and from 1958 until her retirement in 1973 she was a soloist of the Zagreb Ballet. She distinguished herself in numerous leading and principal roles, and will be especially remembered as Giselle (A. Adam, 1965), Jela in The Devil in the Village (F. Lhotka, 1957), Juliet in Romeo and Juliet (S. Prokofiev, 1964), the Girl in Danse macabre (C. Saint-Saëns, 1953), the Girl in Symphony of the Dead Soldier (B. Sakač, 1959), White Maketa in Makete (I. Malec, 1961), the Woman in Man Before the Mirror (M. Kelemen, 1963), She in Variations (P. Dešpalj, 1965), and Wendy in Peter Pan (P. Dešpalj, 1966). She also participated in a number of other ballet and opera productions, working with choreographers such as Nenad Lhotka, Pia and Pino Mlakar, Dimitrije Parlić, Gradimir Hadžislavković, Sonja Kastl, Nevenka Biđin, and others. Throughout her career she toured with the HNK Zagreb Ballet ensemble on numerous stages around the world, receiving acclaim from audiences and critics alike.
As a soloist she was engaged at the Ballet of the Municipal Theatre in Augsburg (1959–1961), and during the 1970s she was a regular guest of the Ballet ensemble of the Municipal Theatre in Klagenfurt, where she performed in operettas and served as assistant to Sonja Kastl in her role as Ballet Director. Following the end of her performing career, she was also involved in teaching for a period.
In addition to her ballet performances, Đurđica Ludvig appeared in the short fiction film Dream of a Little Ballerina by B. Bauer (1954), in which she played the lead role.
In 2016 she received the award of the Croatian Society of Professional Ballet Artists for outstanding contribution to the art of ballet.
Đurđica Ludvig's artistic work marked nearly three decades of Zagreb ballet. This unassuming artist of gentle lyrical presence was distinguished by her harmonious technique, beautiful lines, and dramatic expressiveness, leaving a deep mark on the history of Croatian ballet.
The Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb extends its condolences to her family.
