Image: Marlene Rahmann
Image: Doris Himmelbauer
Image: PHILIPP JELENSKA
Image: APA/EPA/GUILLAUME HORCAJUELO
The preparations for tomorrow’s 65th Vienna Opera Ball are entering the home straight. Since Tuesday, 6:30 a.m., around 500 workers have been working to transform the interior of the building into a magnificent ballroom. As always, time is short, because the opera has to be spruced up by the dress rehearsal tonight. A total of around 12,000 working hours are required for this. This time, among other things, the design of the foyer is new: Since there is no casino for the first time this year, an additional room has been created that is used as a culinary zone. This “Viennese Salon” serves things like Riesling beuschel, paprika chicken or beetroot dumplings – vegan dishes are also offered. For the first time this year there is also a Kaiserschmarrn “to go”.
Maria Santner all in red
“So far everything is going very, very well,” says Maria Santner. The Dancing Stars juror from Sipbachzell has choreographed the entrance of the young women and young men committee for the third time. She herself will be wearing a fantastically beautiful robe by designer Eva Poleschinski, which is decorated with flowers and ostrich feathers. “Tomorrow at 5 p.m. I’ll slip into my dress and then it starts,” says the 36-year-old in an interview with the Upper Austria News. And even if she has to work, one or two dances with husband Marco Angelini are “definitely planned”.
Image: Doris Himmelbauer
With Silvia Schneider, another prominent Upper Austrian is represented in Vienna. The presenter will wear a dress from her own collection this year. For the couture production, around 67,644 rhinestones were painstakingly processed by hand in 162 working hours.
Image: PHILIPP JELENSKA
“I’ve had the dream of a dress made of light in mind for a long time,” says the 40-year-old from Linz, who also designed the ball gown for Women’s Minister Susanne Raab.
Sold out for weeks
The Opera Ball has been sold out for weeks. Even the boxes, which cost up to 23,600 euros, have long been taken. This year, 350 euros are required for normal admission, with the regular ticket price being 315 euros – an additional 35 euros will be charged as a solidarity surcharge, which goes 100 percent to the “Austria helps Austria” initiative, which supports people in the country.
The Viennese master builder Richard Lugner, who hired US superstar Jane Fonda (85) for the ball this year, is already extremely nervous. In order to be as smart and fit as possible on the ball, he has his own recipe. “To strengthen my immune system, I was in a cold chamber at minus 112 degrees Celsius on Monday for two minutes and ten seconds,” said Lugner.
Image: APA/EPA/GUILLAUME HORCAJUELO
The prices at the opera ball
- Sacher sausage €15.00
- Goulash €18.00
- Water 0.75 l €23.50
- Small coffee €8.50
- Beer 0.33 l €13.50
- Wine 0.125 l €13.50
- Sparkling wine 0.1 l 19.50 €
All gastronomy prices also include the solidarity contribution of 10%.
Video: So the opera is transformed into a ballroom
Source: Nachrichten
