LE GRAND BAL
“The Night of Love”: Glitter and Glamour in a fairy-tale ambiance –
the New Year's Eve highlight in Vienna
On 31 December 2012 LE GRAND BAL will celebrate a glittering premiere at the HOFBURG
Vienna, where differently themed rooms will leave ballgoers wide-eyed with wonder. The ball
will get the New Year off to
an elegant and stylish start with lavish decorations, and musical highlights courtesy of waltz,
jazz and swing ensembles. Welcome!
LE GRAND BAL Schedule |
|
07.30 p.m. |
Admission for dinner guests |
Stunning lighting and a red carpet reception will mark the official start of the event for diners and VIPs. Cocktails will be served in the Hofburg Foyer and walking acts will get everyone in the mood for a New Year’s party to remember. Extras in fancy dresses will open the grand staircase and accompany the visitors into the staterooms beyond. |
|
08.30 p.m. |
Banquet |
The gala dinner will be served at 8.30pm. Gerstner Catering, the Imperial Caterer since 1847, has put together a special New Year’s menu for you. Waiters in tails will serve exquisite dishes on luxury porcelain. Your meal will be accompanied by fine wines, and a glass of champagne to see in the New Year. |
|
10.00 p.m. |
Admission for ball guests |
The event opens to all the other guests who will be welcomed with a glass of sparkling white wine and entertainment from the walking acts. In the Hofburg Gallery ball guests can then choose between a dizzying selection of hot and cold snacks from the sumptuous New Year’s buffet created by Gerstner Catering. |
|
10.30 p.m. |
Opening |
The debutants’ committee of the Elmayer Dance School, followed by members of the executive committee and the honorary committee enter the Festsaal in a formal procession. The first highlight comes in the shape of an opening ceremony, featuring a dance performance by the international debutants' committee to the music of “Love and Spring” by Emile Waldteufel and principal dancers Olga Esina and Roman Lazik as well as soloists of the Vienna State Ballet with a choreography by Boris Nebyla of “The Ballet of the Snowflakes” of Jacques Offenbach accompanied by the Vienna Opera Ball Orchestra. The “Je veux vivre” aria from Charles Gounod’s “Roméo et Juliette” will spirit ballgoers off to a musical dreamland. Let’s waltz – or “Alles Walzer” as we say in Vienna! |
|
from 11.00 p.m. |
Entertainment |
The evening will continue in the same vein with music courtesy of the Vienna Opera Ball Orchestra and the Gerhard Aflenzer Big Band in the Festsaal hall. A packed line-up of other bands and orchestras will provide dance rhythms in the Zeremoniensaal and Rittersaal halls. |
|
00.00 |
Midnight Programme |
A countdown will run down the last few seconds of the year. At midnight the “Pummerin” (boomer), the largest bell at St. Stephen’s cathedral, will ring in the New Year before guests dance their way into 2013 to the sounds of the Blue Danube Waltz. A number of leading soloists from the Vienna State Opera and the Volksoper will sing various love, joy and happiness themed arias to melodies of “La Traviata”, “Land of Smiles”, “The Tales of Hoffmann”, “West Story” and “The Bat” as part of the night’s on-going “The night of love” program. |
|
00.20 a.m. |
Public Quadrille |
to the strains of Johann Strauss music in the Festsaal.moderated by Thomas Schäfer-Elmaye |
|
02.30 a.m. |
Public Quadrille |
to the strains of Johann Strauss music in the Festsaal moderated by Thomas Schäfer-Elmaye. |
|
04.00 a.m. |
Conclusion - End of the ball |