New Year's Eve Gala: Ball im Savoy & Dinner at the Prague State Opera

PERFORMANCE DETAILS

The annual New Year's Eve Gala at the Prague State Opera is a sumptuous evening of fine dining, drinks, operetta, music and dancing, in the most elegant of surroundings.

This unrivalled experience is Prague's premier New Year's Eve event.

A full, deluxe bar with no limits is at your disposal all night, included in the price.

The evening begins with a drinks reception, followed by a performance of the operetta 'Ball im Savoy'.

During the interval, choose from a wide selection of gourmet food from the Gala Buffet Dinner.

Approaching midnight, we recharge our glasses, ready to welcome in the New Year. The midnight toast is led by the artists on the stage.

After midnight, the celebrations continue with more food and drinks, and a swing orchestra. Guests have the unique opportunity, should they wish, to dance on the stage of the opera house.

The New Year's Eve Gala is the highlight of the social calendar in Prague, offering participants a truly unforgettable experience.

Dress Code
Black Tie.

Ticket Prices
7990 CZK: Ground Floor & 1st Balcony
5990 CZK: 2nd Balcony (middle section with good views)

Programme of Events (approximate times)
18:30 Welcome Drinks & Canapés
19:30 First Part of the operetta
20:40 Interval + Gala Buffet Dinner
21:45 Second Part of the operetta
23:00 End of Performance + Refreshments
23:50-00:05 Midnight Toast with the Artists
00:05 Midnight Buffet & Drinks
00:05 Swing Orchestra & Dancing on the Stage
03:00 Finish.

2023 MENU & DRINKS COMING SOON
(below are the details from 2021)

GALA BUFFET DINNER & CANAPÉS MENU

SNACKS
Laid out during the welcome drink:
Grilled vegetable crisps
Parmesan cheese and black sesame flatbreads
Puff pastry sticks

COLD CANAPÉS
Parma ham with olives
Parmesan cheese with truffle honey
Norwegian prawns with mango
Roast courgettes with sundried tomatoes

COLD HORS D’OEUVRES AND SALADS
Artichoke, orange and red chicory salad with orange dressing (VEG)
Caesar salad with anchovy, egg, toast, sous-vide chicken breast
Rocket, beetroot, buttermilk, raspberry and pumpernickel salad (VEG)
Roast cherry tomato, fresh oregano, black olive and lovage salad (VEG)
Tartar Beef with shiitake mushrooms and chickpeas
Tartar Salmon with kimchi and sesame
Tartar Beetroot with ricotta, dill and estragon (VEG)

Food painting show:
Roast beef, celery root remoulade, sundried tomatoes
Pollo tonnato
Potato spirals with dips (VEG)
Focaccia and tapas show, olive tapenade, dried tomato tapenade, aubergine pate and herb cottage cheese (VEG)Marinated salmon with dill and honeydew melon
Pork terrine, red onion confit, cress, marinated carrots
Green lettuce with nuts and truffle oil (VEG)

COLD TREATS
Mini veal cutlets with hollandaise sauce
Selection of European cheeses, with forest fruit chutney and ? G mustard (VEG)
Focaccia and tapas show, olive tapenade, dried tomato tapenade, aubergine pate and herb cottage cheese (VEG)
Fresh rolls (with beef, vegetables, duck)

HOT BUFFET
Freshly sliced beef Picanha (sirloin cap), celery purée, Perigourdine sauce
Pork tenderloin Wellington, pea sauce, mini potato crisps
Shredded beef stew with horseradish
Viennese sausage skewers
Fresh homemade breads
Veal cheeks, mushroom sauce, root vegetable purée
Arborio risotto with asparagus, lemon, boiled egg and parmesan cheese (VEG).

DESSERTS
Waffle show - waffle skewers with a variety of toppings and sprinkles
Sachertorte chocolate cake with homemade apricot marmalade
Mozartkugeln
Fruit macarons
Selection of fresh winter and exotic fruit.

MIDNIGHT BUFFET MENU

HOT BUFFET

DESSERTS
Salted caramel éclairs
Chocolate lollipops
Rhubarb mini tart
Selection of fresh winter and exotic fruit.

WELCOME DRINKS

Prosecco Valparaiso DOC
Mulled wine with cinnamon and fresh orange
Homemade berryade
Mattoni mineral water

ALL-INCLUSIVE DRINKS

PROSECCO + BEER
Prosecco Valparaiso DOC
Pilsner Urquell beer
Radegast Birell non-alcoholic beer

WHITE WINE
Chardonnay 2018, selected grapes, Januv sklep, Czechia
Grüner Veltliner Q 2018, Petra Unger viniculture, Austria
Pinot Grigio 2018, Cornaro, Delle Venezie, Italy

RED WINE
Rulandské modré 2017, selected grapes, Réva Rakvice, Czechia
Chateau de Genibon 2015, Cotes de Bourg, cuvée prestige, Bordeaux, France
Memoro rosso 2017, Piccini viniculture, Veneto, Italy

SPIRITS
Stolichnaya Vodka
Botanist Gin
Tequila
Flor de Cana Anejo Classico
Glenfiddich 12 y.o.
Port
Metaxa 12*
Remy Martin V.S.O.P.
Becherovka
Baron Hildprandt Gold Pear
Jägermeister.

PROSECCO + BEER
Mattoni mineral water
Aquila still water
Granini orange and apple juice
Homemade lemonade
Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola light, Fanta, Sprite
Nespresso coffee and selection of fruit teas.

MIDNIGHT TOAST
Prosecco Valparaiso DOC.

BALL IM SAVOY: PERFORMANCE & SYNOPSIS

The plot centres on a grand ball where Aristide has arranged a clandestine meeting with an old flame, the dancer Tangolita. His wife, Madeleine, learns of this plan and decides to attend the ball herself, accompanied by her close friend Daisy, newly arrived from America. No one knows that Daisy is, in fact, the celebrated composer Pasodoble.

Mustapha Bey, the Turkish attaché, falls instantly in love with Daisy, while Célestin, a timid young lawyer, becomes enchanted by Madeleine.

These intertwined situations unfold to irresistible music: exhilarating jazz rhythms, entrancing melodies, Hungarian dances, Viennese waltzes and touches of Klezmer.

Ball im Savoy premiered on 23 December 1932 at the Großes Schauspielhaus in Berlin before transferring to the Prague State Opera.

The English-language premiere followed on 8 September 1933 at the Drury Lane Theatre in London, under the title Ball at the Savoy, with Oscar Hammerstein adapting the libretto. Prelude
Venice, palaces on the Grand Canal, 1932.

Act I
Hall in a villa in Nice.
The Marquis Aristide de Faublas and his wife, Madeleine, have just returned from their honeymoon when a telegram arrives from the dancer Tangolita. Aristide had promised Madeleine an intimate supper; instead, she now insists they attend the annual Grand Ball at the Savoy Hotel.

With Mustapha Bey’s assistance, Aristide persuades his wife that he must go to the Savoy to meet the famous jazz musician José Pasodoble, but that she cannot accompany him because the suitcase containing her ball gown has not arrived. Yet Pasodoble is actually the pseudonym of Madeleine’s American cousin, Daisy, and Madeleine immediately suspects deception.

Act II
Foyer of the Savoy Ballroom in Paris.
Aristide joins his old bachelor friends. Meanwhile, Madeleine plots her revenge. Concealing her face behind a veil, she flirts with Célestin Formant, the timid young man seeking adventure. Mustapha, in turn, is captivated by Daisy.

Aristide and Tangolita retreat to a private dining room for supper, and Madeleine does the same with Célestin. During dinner, Aristide asks the waiter, Pomerol, for the telephone to call his wife. Well accustomed to such situations, Pomerol diverts the call to Madeleine’s dining room, where she answers while pretending to be at home. Deeply disappointed by her husband's behaviour, Madeleine surrenders to Célestin’s charms.

As José Pasodoble receives praise from the Savoy Hotel and reveals her true identity, Madeleine publicly announces that she has betrayed her husband.

Act III
Villa in Nice.
Although Madeleine’s revenge receives general approval, Aristide is furious, torn between believing she did or did not betray him. As Madeleine insists that her betrayal is genuine, Aristide telephones a lawyer to begin divorce proceedings.

When the lawyer arrives, it proves to be Célestin Formant, who refuses to confirm or deny whether the betrayal actually took place. Mustapha proposes to Daisy, but only if Aristide and Madeleine are reconciled. Daisy therefore reveals the truth to Aristide, bringing husband and wife together once more.