In a celebration of culture, tradition, and timeless music, the 69th Annual Viennese Opera Ball returned to Cipriani 42nd Street, for one of the most spectacular evenings in New York’s social calendar. This year’s gala held resonance, commemorating the 200th Anniversary of the birth of Johann Strauss II, the “Waltz King”.
Co-Chaired by Jean Shafiroff and Denise Rich, this year’s Ball benefited Gabrielle’s Angel Foundation for Cancer Research, and the music therapy at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, continuing the event’s legacy of supporting charitable causes through the arts.
The evening opened with the presentation of debutantes and their escorts choreographed by Sandra Stockmayer from Svabek Dance School Vienna, followed by a ballet performance featuring Christine Shevchenko, Principal Dancer with the American Ballet Theatre, joined by young dancers from the Rock School of Dance and members of the Youth America Grand Prix (YAGP), with the support of the Ballet Support Foundation. A highlight of the evening were the breathtaking performances by opera stars María Barakova, two-time Grammy Award winner J’Nai Bridges, Adam Smith, Mikayla Sager, Daniel Berryman, Aigul Akhmetshina, Maritina Tampakopoulos, and Johanna Will. Guests enjoyed a Viennese-inspired dinner and fine Austrian wines, followed by dancing to Waltzer by the Viennese Opera Ball Orchestra led by Maestro Rainer Sulzgruber, the traditional midnight Quadrille and an after party with DJ and Austrian snacks.
Notable attendees included: Denise Rich, Jean Shafiroff, Silvia Frieser, Sabine Riglos (Honoree and Board member), Stefan Ottrubay (Chairman of the Board, Esterhazy Foundation), Petra Schneebauer (Austrian Ambassador to the United States), Thomas Schlesinger (Austrian Consul-General) and spouse Susanne Keppler-Schlesinger (Austrian Cultural Forum NY),Ernst Woller (President of the Vienna Provincial Parliament), Peter Hanke (Federal Minister for Innovation, Mobility and Infrastructure of the Republic of Austria), Dominik Nepp (Member of the City Council of Vienna), Klaus Panholzer (Schloss Schonbrunn), Austrian painter Pablo Meier-Schomburg and Camillo Stepanek, Austrian fashion designer Carolin Sinemus (Madl, Salzburg), Julia Haart, Michael Spinks, Maribel Lieberman, TV personality Star Jones, Elizabeth Segerstrom, William Cavendish and Liliana Cavendish, Rebecca Seawright, David Hochberg, Mario-Max Schaumburg-Lippe, Lulu Sezercan Dalkanat and Lola Abigail Koch.
Sponsors of the 69th Annual Viennese Opera Ball included: City of Vienna, Erste Group Bank AG, Esterházy-Foundation, Austrian Airlines, A.E. Koechert, Schloss Schoenbrunn, and Stifel. Donors included: IKRAA Caviar, Grande Cosmetics, Augarten, Madl, Peter Thomas Roth Skincare, Trapp Family Lodge and Brewery, Mariebelle New York, Pauli of Vienna, Dr. TEMT Skincare, Riding Dinner Vienna, 2 bites Chocolates, Aida, Augarten, Asprey, Bradford Portraits, EuropeanDeli.com, Figlmueller Group, Gail Monaghan, Gems by Christine, Gmundner Keramik, Helga Wagner, Stifel, Hotel Leo Grande, Hotel Sacher, Julius Meinl, J. & L. Lobmeyr, Hotel Krallerhof, LoveShackFancy, Oscar de la Renta, Park Hyatt, Round Hill Jamaica, Salem Golf Club, and Sharon Wilkes, and paintings by Austrian artists Pablo Meier-Schaumburg, Marlies Wagner, FJ Baur and Camillo Stepanek, Eva Petrič, NY artist Fer Da Silva, and delicious Austrian wine makers Christ, Schloss Gobelsburg, Esterházy, and TAT2 Bourbon. Partners included the American Ballet Theatre, Ballet Support Foundation, Imperial Ballroom Dance Center, IMZ, Operabase, Tanzschule Roman E. Svabek and Youth America Grand Prix.
About the Viennese Opera Ball:
Since 1955, the Viennese Opera Ball in New York has been a representative of Vienna’s cultural legacy, elegance, and glamour in the Big Apple. The Ball operates as a cultural platform and builds bridges to connect present day New York City with 19th Century Vienna, and people of varying heritages, continents, and generations, to bring traditional glamour to the city that never sleeps.
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Last modified: May 25, 2025
