After a two-year break, Vienna has its most important social event back: the Opera Ball is in full swing. "Mörtel" Lugner is happy about the good mood of his capricious Hollywood guest.
The Austrian entrepreneur and society lion Richard "Mörtel" Lugner expects at the Vienna Opera Ball that the Hollywood star Jane Fonda will not stay too long. He assumes that she will leave the event again immediately after the end of the contract at midnight, said the 90-year-old on the evening in front of his box. "She's leaving again tomorrow morning and won't be staying too long." It remains the case that the 85-year-old two-time Oscar winner will not dance with him. Fonda had already rejected the joint waltz in advance, citing her physical ailments.
In any case, he had the impression that she felt comfortable. "She's in great spirits." However, her make-up artist is ill. Fonda, 85, wore a long-sleeved white dress with cream floral ornaments. Lugner has been inviting prominent guests to his box for a fee since 1992.
The well-known Austrian climate activist Lena Schilling used the red carpet in front of the opera for a political statement. Dressed in evening robes and tails, she and a companion held a banner with the inscription "You dance, we burn" into the cameras. Fonda, who is also dedicated to fighting climate change, had previously declined to get into a stretch limousine organized by Lugner. Instead, she was driven to her appointments in Lugner's hybrid vehicle.
The opera ball, attended by around 5,000 guests, is the social highlight of the ball season in Vienna. The German Minister of Finance, Christian Lindner, is also one of the prominent guests. The FDP politician was invited by his Austrian colleague Magnus Brunner. In the past two years, the event had been canceled due to the corona pandemic. According to the State Opera, part of the proceeds will go to charity this time.
