NEW YORK,NY(SMIWIRE,02.03.19)-The Viennese Opera Ball, held its 64th annual white tie charity gala today (Friday's February 01, 2019), honoring Waris Dirie " (former UN Social activist) as this year gala's Honorary Ambassador and renowned Italian bass opera singer " Ferruccio Furlanetto, as " Guest of Honor at Cipriani's 42nd Street in the heart of Manhattan.

​

The Viennese Opera Ball is an annual white tie charity gala celebration, that promotes a bilateral cultural and economic relations between Austria and United States. Founded by Austrians that began emigrating the US more than half of century ago, began organizing this glamorous gala to pay tribute their former country's hometown Vienna &  newest host city, New York City.

​

The Viennese Opera Ball is also considered the oldest and most prestigious ball ever celebrated outside of Vienna, where renowned opera singers usually perform and attendees include VIP's from Diplomats, Dignitaries, Coporated Excecutive of US & International corporations.

​

The gala charaity proceeds will benefit the music therapy program at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center with support from Gabrielle‘s Angel Foundation for Cancer Research.

The Viennese Opera Ball Gala Chair:Jean Shafiroff

Honorary Ambassador: Waris Dirie

Guests of Honor: 

Ferruccio Furlanetto, is an Italian professional opera bass singer, who made his professional debut in the production of Verdi's Macbeth conducted by Claudio Abbado in Lonigo, at the Teatro Alla Scala in Milan in 1979. He has gone on to sing numerous roles, including both Don Giovanni and Leporello in Mozart's Don Giovanni, Philip II in Verdi's Don Carlos, Figaro in Mozart's  Le nozze di Figaro, Gremin in  Tchaikovsky's  Eugene Onegin, Zaccaria in Verdi's Nabucco, Méphistophélès in Gounod's Faust, Orestes i in Strauss' Elektra, Fiesco in Verdi's Simon Boccanegra, the title role of Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov, as well as many other roles.

​

He also has sung in the world's major opera houses. He debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in the 1980/81 season, and has performed at the Opera de Paris (Bastille), the  Salzburg Easter Festival and the regular Salzburg Festival, Teatro Colonin Buenos Aires, the Vienna Staatsoper, the Tel Av Opera, and the Royal Opera House in London.

Musical Program led by Artistic Director Daniel Serafin

Photos Taken by Starlight Illustrated/ SMI-PHOTO