The Theatre Hotel Vienna: An evening with culture, enjoyment and 260 talents
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| These High School Graduates of HLTW13 Bergheidengasse were in charge of The Theatre Hotel 2018. The 15 heads formed the "management" and organized everything in their spare time. |
Vienna (February 23, 2018). "We are the most passionate of all tourism schools"!, the exuberant professor joyfully called out to the 650 guests in the hall of the Austria Trend Hotel Savoyen in Vienna. With these words, Helmut Kuchernig, mentor and co-founder of "The Theatre Hotel", gave the starting signal for the big cultural and culinary final: Last Saturday evening, two 17-year-old "chefs" provided 650 three-course menus and 500 breakfasts in the morning. 260 school students of the HLTW13 Bergheidengasse in Vienna ran, served, organised and sweated – and laughed late into the night, totally exhausted but happy… They had "passed".
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| First culinary culture, to be followed by the concert: 650 guests in the banquet room of Hotel Savoyen. The highlight of the day. |
The Theatre Hotel, the 11th event of this kind, was the highlight in the history of this idea, which almost exclusively presented superlatives on this evening: There had never been as many school students active at The Theatre Hotel, the reputation of The Theatre Hotel extended well beyond the borders of Vienna for the first time, also because of the top-class artists, such as Konstantin Wecker in its programme, and in the end, the donations reached 95,000 euros, a new record.
The school students at Bergheidengasse have done exceptionally well: To see live how young people under the age of 18 were able to master a gigantic banquet and re-arrange their finely tuned organisation plan because the artists rehearsed until the very last minute in the banquet hall – this was definitely an amazing feat. The team mastered it in a concerted effort, without fuss or quibble. This was pure adrenaline and pure motivation.
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| Johannes Mauthe, the former director of the Savoyen and lecturer at HWTL13, with the two "chefs" Thomas Droeszler and Marcus Wakolbinger. / photos: map |
The unplayed but
audible tones
"Der Klang der ungespielten Toene" (the sound of the unplayed tones) sensitised the guests once more for what stands behind the cultures of hospitality and music. For two hours, the guests listened silently, enraptured by the scenic concert reading on the stage: Following Konstantin Wecker's novel of the same name, Michael Dangl staged the programme together with the orchestra from Staatstheater at Gaertnerplatz in Munich, Konstantin Wecker as well as Michael Dangl and Yara Bluemel alternately took speaking parts and played the piano. They recounted Wecker's childhood, his love for music, his flight into music commerce, and his return to the world of real sounds, impersonated in the fictional character of Anselm Cavaradossi Huettenbrenner.
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Continues Mauthe's |
A beautiful piece as a tribute to the values of life and passion – and to the already deceased Otto Tausig, who was an actor at Vienna's Burgtheater, who invented this unique combination of art, culture and school. Tausig's widow Lilly, who is already 94 years old, remembered the beginnings in a moving and witty way: Once, her husband returned from India, and alarmed by the poverty of the people there, he wanted to donate his next artist's fees to India – and he wanted to "scrounge" from his colleagues at the theatre for this good cause. At the same time, Helmut Kuchernig went looking for sponsors; he did so with charm, vigour and success.
Playing music and serving food for the children in India
Therefore, this year again, a large part of the donations - probably about 40,000 euros - will be given to the village of Tummala in South India, where they will build more stable homes to offer a more humane life. The music initiative called "Superar" from Vienna received 5,000 euros this year, and a cheque of 10,000 euros – handed over by Professor Helmut Kuchernig and Konstantin Wecker prior to the musical reading went to Volkshilfe Vienna. The German singer-songwriter and his artistic colleagues donated their fees to charity too. Helmut Kuchernig engaged the cabaret artist and actor Werner Schneyder for 2019 live on stage.
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| Konstantin Wecker relaxed – signing his books after the concert. |
At the same time, there was tension and bustling activity in the kitchen and service prior to the next culinary act. The "chefs" Thomas Droeszler und Marcus Wakolbinger managed their team: The guests enjoyed bulgur as a starter, tender beef short ribs as an entrée, and brownies with tonka bean crumble, apricot gel and yoghurt topping for desert… Beaming parents and professors appreciatively patted the shoulders of their students.
The school students cleaned and tidied up until late at night and we met the responsible people on the management team in the lobby on Sunday morning. They were a little pale but radiant: "We still have to do the accounting and move and clear a few things", said the two "General Managers" Barbara Hrdina and Clemens Jancik, who were also responsible for finances. Just as in real life.
The Theatre Hotel Vienna is probably one of the best schools for life, also for life in the hotel industry. Therefore, hospitalityInside.com was very happy to accompany the event as media partner. Keep going, dear Bergheidengasse! / Maria Puetz-Willems
Continuative Links:
- Feb 9, 2018 Holding up team morale: HLTW school students excited about Theaterhotel staging next week
- Dec 8, 2017 The Theatre Hotel: Austria's biggest school charity is organised by tourism students - Konstantin Wecker crowns 2018 with a charity concert
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