Famous Linzer

“Who Elina Garanca turns the head of”

(Bild: Sarah Katharina)

She tours the world and is popular and sought-after as an opera singer. In a new dress, specially tailored for "Klassik in den Alpen", a well-known man from Linz "fell in love" with the mezzo-soprano from Latvia. Who is the man who says of Garanca: "This woman does something to me. She looks at me and I feel like I can see right through her."

"She is a woman who is in life and knows what she wants," smiles designer Gottfried Birklbauer. He met Elina Garanca by chance. "It happened at the opera ball. Elina saw a woman in a dress that she couldn't get out of her head. Without further ado, she approached the visitor and asked the lady who had tailored this creation - and promptly invited me to Vienna. She was impressed by my designs and had two dresses tailored to her body," says the designer.

"I don't have a perfect figure "
 "I may have a perfect voice, but I don't have a perfect figure. I'm relying on you, Gottfried, to create a harmonious look. Please remember that the clothes have to be suitable for a suitcase, I'll be in the south of France next week and will be living out of a suitcase," says Gottfried about meeting the opera diva. 

  "The woman does something to me"

The man from Linz made the Latvian woman a black velvet dress with a chiffon cape and a tuxedo. "Totally androgynous, a bit Marlene Dietrich style. She looks simply breathtaking. This woman does something to me. She looks at me and I feel like I'm being seen through. I'm really a bit nervous when I see her," laughs the designer. He has also designed a piece of art for actress Meryl Streep.