Dragon Lenzibald is making his way. Colorful lights illuminate the grotto and make the glass cones on the ceiling sparkle. When the mascot Sebastian takes his seat, the children’s eyes also start to shine. The OÖNachrichten were able to use the magical ambience in the Grottenbahn for a special occasion: Because the benefit gala for the Christkindl campaign could not take place in the Schauspielhaus as planned, a contemplative excursion to the Pöstlingberg was recommended.
While Lenzibald rolls through the Christmas decorated dwarf world, local musicians report from their living rooms. The 50-minute program, which will be broadcast for the first time today at 8 p.m. on TV1 and nachrichten.at, pays homage to the OÖN Christkindl and its helpers.
Since 1964, when a letter of appeal from a 14-year-old girl moved an entire country to help, donations have been collected every year during the Christmas season for Upper Austrians in need. The Landestheater makes a valuable contribution with the traditional Christkindl gala, because the net proceeds benefit people in need. Since this year’s performance was canceled due to the corona pandemic, the artists moved their performances home without further ado.
Eleven musical interludes
The cave train ride starts with a triple voice: The Poxrucker Sisters spray Christmas shine with a dialect pop insert. With “Shine a Light on” Andie Gabauer and Monika Ballwein make you sit up and take notice. As a regular gala guest, singer Eric Papilaya also took part in the TV show. The audience can look forward to the new single “Hau di her” from the “Amadeus Music Award” winners Folkshilfe. The performances by the phylloxera quartet and zither player Wilfried Scharf invite you to pause, in between the actors of the Musical Theater Academy (MTA) from Linz and the swing trio Bye Maxene spread joie de vivre.
Governor Thomas Stelzer and Bishop Manfred Scheuer are also guests on the Christkindl program, addressing the audience with reflective words. To top it off, three top-class musicians from the Upper Austrian music scene will give a glimpse into their private stages: Cesar Sampson from Linz, who already represented Austria in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2018, as well as the Alpine-Balkan group Alpkan and, last but not least, countertenor Alois Mühlbacher with his Christmas song “Christmas Has a Beauty”.
There will also be encores: The Grottenbahn will do several laps on TV1 during the Christmas holidays, from December 24th to 26th. There are a total of eleven performances that can be seen during the Christkindl show. The protagonists appear on a voluntary basis for the OÖN-Christkindl and thus set a sign of charity and solidarity.
Source: Nachrichten
