Hannibal in Sölden

Rettenbachferner becomes the biggest stage in the world

100 "Krone" readers will also be able to experience the powerful spectacle up close from 7.30 pm.(Bild: Ernst Lorenzi)

As dusk falls in the Ötztal on Friday evening, Hannibal will once again be in top form as he crosses the Alps. Thousands of spectators will be up close and personal to witness the mighty spectacle.

Conditions should be perfect for the Hannibal glacier spectacle in Sölden. "But dress warmly, it will be around minus four degrees on the Rettenbachferner," advises Ernst Lorenzi, initiator of this unique cultural event, to wear suitable clothing. The story is well known - after a prologue that begins hundreds of years before the birth of the general, Hannibal finally enters the ring himself. We see the Carthaginian crossing the Alps with 60,000 men and 37 elephants. There may not be quite so many actors, but the production has it all.

"500 people, 350 of them in front of the stage, are involved. Including many locals from all over Tyrol," reveals Lorenzi. There is a cooperation with the Stams Ski High School - thanks to Günther Obkircher and Alexandra Scheyer. "The pupils play part of the ground crew. There are also 60 paragliders," says Lorenzi.

Fakten

Information and tickets are available at: www.soelden.com/hannibal-gletscherschauspiel

Sölden and Red Bull are staging Hannibal's crossing of the Alps together with the artist network Lawine Torrèn, directed by Hubert Lepka. Actors, dancers, but also the Flying Bulls with historic airplanes, paragliders, 150 ski instructors (including the pupils from Stams) as Hannibal's ground troops and 37 Pistenbullys as elephants are all involved. Harald Krassnitzer narrates the story. In this interplay of acting, dramaturgy, music, lighting and scenic pyrotechnics, the glacier spectacle becomes as intense as a movie, only everything happens live. The immediacy that is created on the natural stage puts everything in the shade.