Her photo went around the world: high school graduate Valerie in her robes in front of the destroyed school in Kharkiv, Ukraine. The governor of Salzburg, Wilfried Haslauer, dedicated the festival speech to her. Now Valerie came to Salzburg.
“A young woman with blond hair tied up in a flowing red chiffon dress dances in front of the ruins of a large building. Her name is Valerie and she is wearing the dress she would have loved to have worn to her prom. The ball is cancelled, the destroyed building in the photo behind her is her school in the battered and besieged city of Kharkov. Valerie didn’t lose her life in this war, but part of her life, her hopes and expectations and had to trade them for basic needs.”
That’s what Governor Haslauer said in his Felsenreitschule. And: “Her red dress is her answer and also a request. She does not want to lose her zest for life, her desires and with her photo may unconsciously appeal to us not to give up, despite the great misery, destruction and death, to be human in the full breadth of our existence, with all sadness, Dismay and helpfulness, but also with the feeling and search for beauty, peace, love, zest for life, for truth and the future.
Travel out of war zone for Valerie’s first opera
A woman from Salzburg was particularly moved. She went to the internet: Google search. valerie Red dress. Kharkiv. It worked. No ordinary journey, a ramble through areas through which the war had raged, program items without any political significance, no sayings, but Mozart and his beautiful city.
Valerie was impressed, she really blossomed, says her partner, and the highlight: her first opera.
In the midst of the crowd on Hofstallgasse, no one noticed the cheerful Valerie in her beautiful red dress. An evening she will always remember: Giuseppe Verdi. Aida, the king’s daughter, who is kidnapped as a hostage, and the general, who must choose between his love for Aida and his loyalty to the pharaoh.
Valerie is now back in Ukraine. Kharkiv was hit by ten bombs last night.
Hours she will never forget in Salzburg
Valerie looks at her red dress. She couldn’t wear it to a prom. But she walked through the famous alley in front of the Festspielhaus in a peaceful city and had a wonderful performance. Hours she will never forget.
Hans Peter Hasenohrl
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
