Baroque splendour at the 68th Vienna Opera Ball: Casa Padrino in Vienna

Baroque splendour at the 68th Vienna Opera Ball

Vienna, 12 February 2026. When the Vienna State Opera opens its doors for the 68th Opera Ball, the house turns for one night into what is arguably the most famous ballroom in the world. Among the roughly 5,500 guests were Marvin Schertl, founder and artistic director of Casa Padrino, and Dr Sina Schertl, who spent the evening in a box together with fashion designer Harald Glööckler.

The ball of balls

The Vienna Opera Ball is considered the social peak of the European ball season. A house that stages opera on 300 evenings a year becomes a ballroom for this one night, and what usually separates stage and auditorium becomes a single floor. A box costs into the five figures; a ticket was 410 euros. The evening was broadcast live on ORF and 3sat and followed by an audience of millions.

It traditionally begins with the opening by the committee of young ladies and gentlemen. This year 160 debutante couples from around 15 countries took to the floor, rehearsed by the Santner dance school in Upper Austria. After the fan polonaise and the waltz comes the phrase everyone waits for: "Alles Walzer", and the ballroom belongs to the guests.

An evening half the world watches

The Opera Ball is where Austrian politics, international business, the aristocracy and Hollywood meet within a few square metres. This year the actresses Sharon Stone and Fran Drescher were among the guests of honour, the latter in a tuxedo dress by Dolce & Gabbana. For one evening, the red carpet in front of the opera and the tiers of boxes above it form a single stage.

In this setting Harald Glööckler also drew attention: a classic black tailcoat with a white bow tie, a floor-length white fur coat and a swept-up blonde mane. His appearance was conceived as a homage to Empress Elisabeth and was talked about all evening, in the hall and on social media alike. Marvin and Dr Sina Schertl shared that box.

Why a furniture house belongs at the Opera Ball

The State Opera is a building of historicism, created in an era that cultivated the very vocabulary Casa Padrino draws on: neoclassicism, baroque, gilding, symmetry, craftsmanship in every detail. For a house that furnishes private residences, grand hotels and prestige projects, such an evening is not a trip into foreign territory. These are precisely the rooms Casa Padrino designs for.

Production at Casa Padrino is largely by hand: furniture in Italy, ceramics by Spanish artisans, brass in Indian workshops, together with solid marble, gold leaf and hand upholstery. Dimensions, materials and finishes can be chosen freely for every project, up to unique one-off pieces. Vienna is a market with a long-standing affinity for classical interior architecture.

One stop among many

The Opera Ball is part of a series of international appearances: most recently the Festival du Cinéma Américain in Deauville and the Bal de Noël in Monte Carlo, in spring the 70th Bal de la Rose in Monte Carlo, and in May the Cannes Film Festival, where Casa Padrino was honoured for outstanding design quality and international brand positioning. ELLE Decoration, Paris Match, Marie Claire and Forbes France, among others, have reported on the brand.

About Casa Padrino

Casa Padrino is an international luxury furniture and interior brand from Essen, Germany, founded in 2007 by Marvin Schertl and run together with Dr Sina Schertl. The brand stands for handcrafted furniture and decorative pieces in the baroque, art deco, neoclassical and art nouveau styles. Casa Padrino furnishes luxury hotels, villas, yachts, restaurants and boutiques worldwide, takes on complete projects on request and produces individual one-off pieces.

The evening in the box · The reunion with Habsburg-Lothringen · Luxury furniture by Casa Padrino