Well, another Opera Ball gone by....

I haven't watched in years. This morning, Peter made me watch the repeat on our local station.

Nicolette Sheridan seemed to be having 'fun' at the opening of it. They changed the arrangement of the beginning since I last saw it some years ago. First only part of the debutantes march in and line up on the sides of the room. And they really do turn the Opera into the most beautiful ballroom you have ever seen.

And then they had several numbers with the ballet, and opera stars. The ballet got better overall, and they have a terrific soloist from Albania now. Tall, handsome, and so fluid it made my joints feel arthritic in comparison. And of course the children's ballet. Always a winner. The music was mostly Haydn (200th anniversary of his death) Puccini, and Strauss, of course.

And then they had the polonnaise with the debutantes. You have to imagine a couple of hundred pairs of young people. The girls in sleek white gowns wearing little tiaras, the guys in classic black tuxedoes. And then they do a polonnaise, this time to Strauss, but it is so intricate, and the flashing white and black could cause an epileptic to go into a fit when seen from above. Then they waltz to the secret national anthem, the Blue Danube Waltz, and then the floor is given over to the ball guests. They work really hard to get that right, and it really is wonderful to see... so am not all THAT cynical.

Nicolette Sheridan seemed to like that part, was directing the music per hand out of her loge. She later said it seemed to be like a fairy tale come to life. Well, for EUR 72,000 for one day's work.... yeah, I guess you could think like that.

The rest was a deluge of things you never wanted to know about anyone. A bonfire of the vanities, so to speak. Gawd, you could just throw up.

Actor Alfons Haider---no relation to the late demagogue---has really developed as a moderator for this event. Suave, elegant, doesn't ask dumb questions, and had a couple of surprises up his sleeve. He seemed to charm the First Lady of Santo Domingo, and asked if she had danced yet. She said no. So he asked for a dance, and she gladly accepted. It was cute.

He took Nicolette Sheridan aback with his perfect English, and SHE asked him for a dance, at which point I yelled, 'Oh Edie, what are you thinking? The man is openly GAY, for heaven's sake!'

Interesting that most of the top bankers did not attend. Normally, this event is for the wheelers and dealers to meet and do sneakret things in the background.

Sad was that there were only four protesters out there this year. BUT.... one of them mooned all the hoi polloi and caused them to look for the fainting couches. That was funny, and the police were so surprised, he mooned them loooonnnnnng.