text & pics: Martina Handler, Matthias Gantner, Wolfgang Eisler The Viennese Opera Ball The Viennese Opera Ball is one of the biggest middle-European society events of the year. Nevertheless it has always been an open area for various attacks from differing social and political groupings. There are plenty of alterna-tive events, scheduled on the day of the Opera Ball. One of them is the Viennese Opferball, which was the initiative of the homeless`-magazine in Vienna, called "Augustin". THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND. From its earliest beginnings the Viennese Opera Ball has always been an international social event. Its predecessors were the well-known dancing-festivals in the so called "Redoutensaal" and in the Viennese Royal Palaces. These festivities developed out of the radiant festivals of the "Wiener Kongress". When the new Opera House in Vienna was established in 1869 - by the efforts of emperor Franz Joseph I - the old customs were retained, yet it took still another couple of years until the first event of the Opera Ball was held. At the same time Johann Strauss had already conducted his famous waltzes in Paris, which were taken as an example of the first Viennese "Hofopern-Soiréen" in December 1877, for which the famous Strauss-brothers showed their musical talent in composing their celebrated "Opera Ball Polka". In the following years the gala developed into a kind of mixture of the French fancy-dress-balls and the "Hofopern-Soiréen" with its legendary dancing and prancing. However in 1899 this glittering tradition came to an abrupt end. Not until well after the end of the first world war, in 1921, was the institution of Opera-dancing resurrected, but only due to the poor economic situation in the post-war period. From 1935 until 1938 the first festivals were celebrated, which were by then, already called Viennese Opera Balls, a spectacle that had never been seen before. The cruelty of the Second World War prevented further dancing from 1939 onwards. In March 1945 the Opera was completely destroyed. It took more than a decade until, in 1956, the first Viennese Opera Ball was organised. In those days the Austrian newspaper "Die Presse" wrote: "Basically the Opera Ball is no longer a Viennese event, but a Cosmo-European now. A ball-night, for which the world is filled with envy." Over the years the ball has gained in international status. It has become an influential national event under the protection of the Austrian President. Nevertheless the Viennese Opera Ball has always been the target of attacks by various social and political groups. The origin of these attacks dates back to the nineteenth century, when public riots against the former "Hofopern-Soirée" were common. THE OPERA BALL TODAY. Presently the Viennese Opera Ball is still a very controversial event. On the one hand, upper-class people take it as an unalloyed opportunity to represent their social status with as much glamour and glitter as possible and it also seems to be an evident fact that the Opera Ball is very important for the self-esteem of many Austrians, who try to bring back and relive the good old monarchy-times, when K. and K. Austria had been a political European superpower. Alternatively this obvious exhibition of the social rift between rich and poor has always been a point of attack for "lefties" and other social minorities, who criticise this pure "playground of vanities". However we should primarily focus on the fascination of the Opera Ball and its long traditions in the city of Vienna and the significance for its inhabitants. There is, for instance, the very popular dancing-school Elmayer, where the debutantes of the Viennese Opera Ball, who attend the celebrated opening-ceremony, are trained. But Elmayer is not only famous for its dancing-lessons; it also stands for the traditionally all-important Austrian virtue: social etiquette and good manners. It is a great honour for many young people to participate in the internationally known opening Polonaise. Few of those who first try to be part of it, however, get through the long and exhausting selection process. Thus, after very many hours of hard training (work) even fewer finally end up at the Viennese Opera ball. So for what reasons do many teenagers take these strains upon themselves? This can't be answered in simple terms, but one of them is certainly the argument of prestige. In some upper-class families it is a form of undisputed duty to be a part of the tradition to open the Opera Ball as a Polonaise-dancer. This of course is usually more important for the parents than for their offspring. These parents are full of pride for their children, dressed up and smiling in their beautiful finery. Also other participants confidently seize this opportunity of taking part in the opening Polonaise, in order to meet Viennese high society. More or less, the Opera Ball is one of the biggest middle-European society events of the year, attracting as it does both real celebrities and their aspirants. Every year it finds great recognition in the local media as well as that outside of Austria. THE "OPFERBALL" -AN ALTERNATIVE EVENT. As already mentioned, there are plenty of other events, organised by the alternative scene in Vienna, scheduled on the day of the Opera Ball. One of them is the Viennese Opferball (e.g. the ball of the victims), which was founded on the initiative of the homeless-magazine in Vienna, called "Augustin". In the beginning the Opferball was set in small and "dingy" locations, but after a few years it gained substance. Today it tries to copy the atmosphere of the real Opera Ball, like an alternative "spitting image", but it still doesn't forget to be a plenum for an open society. The fact that the Opferball doesn't try to move directly against the institution of the Viennese Opera ball is a very significant fact in forming the identity of Vienna itself, making it a very unique and peaceful tradition. Balls, dancing and just having fun are part of the "authentic" Vienna; and this is a major motive for the "homeless" to have their own representative dancing-event just like high society in the carnival-season. The intention of the Opferball is not to rebel against the glamorous style of the Opera ball, but to bring together people of all social classes, in contrast to the Opera Ball, which divides them. So the main argument of the organisers against the "struggle of difference" is the affordable admission fee - and it is quite clear that the entry is free for the homeless. A more aggressive form of resistance against the show-event of "The Bold and the Beautiful" are the legendary Opera Ball demonstrations of left-wing extremists which reached their height in the 1980's. They usually ended up in violent street-riots between the police-forces and the young radicals which were, strangely enough provoked by both sides. This coarse behaviour lost most of its supporters in later years, and events similar to the Opferball, which call themselves parallel instead of controversial, have become more popular. So, in fact, the Opferball has no ideological movements against the Opera Ball itself. The organisers conclude that inevitably the Opera Ball will become boring and repetitious; and since the Opferball is considered far more integrative and therefore much more entertaining - catering as it does to a much wider and more socially colourful section of the Viennese community - its future is more likely to survive. top