Krzysztof Warlikowski:

“There should be more idiots in our world”

Former Festival President Helga Rabl-Stadler attended the premiere, but didn't want to steal anyone's thunder(Bild: Tschepp Markus)

A Russian opera with a special title once again attracted an illustrious audience to Hofstallgasse on Friday.

Admittedly, an opera with the title "The Idiot" may seem a little strange at first glance. It is based on the novel of the same name by Russian writer Fyodor Dostoyevsky.

Sepp Schellhorn had to wait a few minutes at the entrance for his companion.(Bild: Tschepp Markus)

In the original version, however, the term "idiot" refers to something else: it is not about an idiot in the conventional sense, but rather about an outsider and dissident who is not afraid to speak the truth without compromise. "I think we need more of these kinds of idiots in our world to save our society," said director Krzysztof Warlikowski in an interview.

Wherever he appears, a flurry of flashbulbs is sure to follow: Westwood widower Kronthaler(Bild: Tschepp Markus)

Andreas Kronthaler also knows a thing or two about being different. The widower of quirky British fashion icon Vivienne Westwood also attended the premiere on Friday evening - in socks and sandals. He had already attracted everyone's attention at the premiere of "La clemenza di Tito" on Thursday, dressed in fishnet stockings and ballerinas. "We all live in a frightening world. But it's also extremely important to see what we can achieve if we want to. What every single person can do. It all makes a difference," the Tyrolean-born designer recently reflected in an interview with fashion magazine "Vogue".

"Krone" editor Christoph Dichand came with Maria and Christian Planegger(Bild: Tschepp Markus)

The star architect Maria Planegger is moving something more. Directly on the Danube, she is building Austria's tallest residential tower with 48 floors and 180 meters with her architectural firm "A01 architects". Together with her husband and entrepreneur Christian Planegger, she accompanied the Dichand couple to the premiere on Friday evening.

Artist Daniel Blau and his wife Maria Kern-Hastings are regular guests at the festival(Bild: Tschepp Markus)

Politician and restaurateur Sepp Schellhorn was still waiting for his companion. He passed the waiting time at the entrance to the Grosses Festspielhaus until shortly before the opera began at 6 pm by "people-watching". Among others, he probably discovered former Festival President Helga Rabl-Stadler, artist Daniel Blau with his wife Maria Kern-Hastings and Nicole Beutler with her husband Gert Korentschnig.