Rouben Ter-Arutunian; Stage Designer for ‘Nutcracker’

Rouben Ter-Arutunian, 72, a stage designer probably best known for his sets and lighting for “The Nutcracker,” the annual winter attraction at the New York State Theater in New York City. He originally created those designs for George Balanchine’s New York City Ballet at Lincoln Center. One of the most popular features of the set is a Christmas tree that seems to grow. He came to ballet from music after he had decided to become a pianist. But after attending some European performances of the Ballets Russes in the mid-1930s, he switched to painting and design. He made his debut as a costume designer with the Berlin Staatsoper and worked with the Dresden Opera and the Vienna State Opera before coming to the United States in 1951. For American television, he devised the scenery and costumes for the epic “Noah and the Flood” in 1962. Oct. 17 in Manhattan of lymphoma of the brain.