Dresden’s eccentric and excessive SemperOpernball is taking place tonight at the city’s celebrated opera house. The glitzy fundraising gala features celebrity hosts, dancing debutantes and big-name singing stars from across Germany and the world.
Describing itself as an, ‘extraordinary mix of stylish classics and fast-paced modernity,’ the event was first run 10 years ago and is now an established part of Dresden’s cultural calendar. VIP tickets can cost up to €1,900, with money raised in 2015 going to charities like Dresdner Kinderhilfe, German Red Cross, and the Foundation for German Stroke Victims.
Soprano Joyce DiDonato and Argentinian-Italian crooner Semino Rossi top the bill this year. Di Donato recently announced she will be appearing in feature film The Florence Foster Jenkins Story in the role of the famously out-of-tune heiress Florence Foster Jenkins whose performances in the 1920s became legendary.
SemperOpernball also features dancers from Lido in Paris and students from Warsaw School of Arts in a non-stop party that spreads out across the city and includes fireworks, festivities and over-the-top outfits. Composer Anton Lubchenko is premiering his Debutante Waltz, with 100 dancers joining in.
Famous names like Naomi Campbell, Her Majesty Queen Silvia of Sweden, Sir Roger Moore and LaToya Jackson have all taken part in previous balls. The night is hosted by German TV stars Guido Maria Kretschmer and Mareile Höppner.