Vienna Opera Ball opens with Chopin tribute

In a year celebrating Chopin’s 200th birthday, the “Opernball” opened Thursday with his Scherzo Nr. 1 and Minute Waltz.

VIENNA, February 12, 2010 (AFP) - EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton and British page-three girl Katie Price were the star guests of this year's Vienna Opera Ball, dedicated to the waltz and Polish composer Frederic Chopin.

In a year celebrating Chopin's 200th birthday, the "Opernball" opened Thursday with his Scherzo Nr. 1 and Minute Waltz.

The highlight of Vienna's ball season, the Opera Ball has traditionally been a meeting place for politicians and businessmen. But local celebrities and wannabees have increasingly grabbed the headlines by booking prominent guests.

This year, tabloid darling Katie Price and Hollywood actress Lindsay Lohan were the talk of the town ahead of the Ball, although Lohan eventually did a no-show.

In recent years, Baywatch stars Pamela Anderson and Carmen Electra, striptease queen Dita von Teese, and scandal girl Paris Hilton have also made it to the traditional event -- all guests of Viennese entrepreneur Richard Lugner, 76.

A highly glamorous event where women come in their finest jewelry and men have the rare opportunity to show off their medals and honours, the Opera Ball does not come cheap: a single ticket costs 230 euros, while a top box can fetch up to 17,000 euros.

On Thursday, women were seen in gowns of all hues from sober black numbers to candy-floss constructions and leopard-prints.

The ball was opened by debutantes in keeping with tradition.

Prominent guests included Austrian President Heinz Fischer, Chancellor Werner Faymann and several ministers, as well as the new EU foreign affairs chief Baroness Ashton and German Economy Minister Rainer Bruederle.