Opera Ball TV review

Live broadcast on ORF: “Move your ass a little”

Teresa Vogl, Andi Knoll and Mirjam Weichselbraun reported live from the Opera Ball.(Bild: Krone KREATIV/APA/HELMUT FOHRINGER, Tischler, Tuma )

Without expensive tickets, TV viewers were able to watch live at the State Opera on Thursday evening. Mirjam Weichselbraun & Co. were in action during the superlative live broadcast - here you can read how the presenters fared in the stressful situation and what slip-ups happened ...

"Pictures you would never have dreamed of", promised commentators Christoph Wagner-Trenkwitz and Karl Hohenlohe to ORF viewers at the Opera Ball. After all, outdoor and indoor drones were used for the first time - and Hohenlohe was immediately surprised that the drone pilot was not sitting directly in one.

"I'm wearing a tailcoat - and red underpants underneath."

Schauspieler Ferdinand Seebacher zu Andi Knoll

But English skills were more important than technical expertise that evening anyway. Andi Knoll unpacked them in his interview with supermodel daughter Leni Klum, sometimes forgetting the translation - but the viewers didn't miss that much. As always, Knoll was responsible for the banter and asked a debutante with a bottle of water: "Vodka, I presume?"

Silvia Schneider shines in her debut.(Bild: APA/EVA MANHART)

Presenter Silvia Schneider mastered her live broadcast debut without any vodka, bringing the audience very close to the action with vivid descriptions of the hustle and bustle.

"This is the State Opera, and we are the State Operas."

TV-Kommentatoren Christoph Wagner-Trenkwitz und Karl Hohenlohe

Marion Benda had recovered somewhat from last year's noticeable nervousness, flirting with Bruce Darnell ("You look fabulous"), who promised: "I'll move my ass a bit." In conversation with Nina Proll, Benda first wanted to know where her husband Gregor Bloéb was. Proll replied: "I have no idea", to which Benda waved off: "A good starting point for a nice evening."

"Should the handsome Viennese lads ask you to dance today?"

Andi Knoll zu Leni Klum

ORF culture lady Teresa Vogl made sure that the guests on the living room couch were also informed about culinary delights and culture and remained confident as always.

The "old hand" in the team was Mirjam Weichselbraun, who showed a lot of emotion when accompanying two Opera Ball ticket winners, but remained far too superficial during the interview with Alexander Van der Bellen. All in all, the ORF presenter team presented a much more solid performance than last year, when they put their foot in their mouths ...