Heir to the opera ball lady

Tobisch’s great-great-grandniece in Aunt Lotte’s gowns

Caroline Urbanek as a child with her beloved Aunt Lotte. Now, years later, she did a photo shoot in the robes of her aunt, whose "energy" she admired, for the association "Artists help artists".(Bild: zVg)

Lotte Tobisch-Labotýn was considered the grande dame of Viennese society and was the epitome of elegance. Now Caroline Urbanek, the great-great-grandniece of the former Opera Ball organizer, has come forward. She now wants to do something good with her cult gowns ...

It was a very special kind of shoot that producer Magdalena Auer and photographer Elisabeth Gatterburg recently pulled out of the ground in Vienna. Caroline Urbanek was in front of the camera, and she is none other than the great-great-grandniece of the unforgettable Opera Ball grande dame Lotte Tobisch (†2019).

A unique personality
"She had an incredibly beautiful charisma. No matter how old she was, when she walked into a room, you couldn't help but stare at her and be captivated by her energy," said Urbanek about her relative, who was popular throughout the country. And so it came as no surprise to anyone that the 23-year-old business administration student opened this year's Opera Ball with a chest swelling with pride.

Caroline Urbanek opened this year's Opera Ball. It was organized by her aunt from 1981 to 1996.(Bild: Produzentin Magdalena Auer und Fotografin Elisabeth Gatterburg)

The creations by Adlmüller and Liska will be auctioned off.(Bild: Produzentin Magdalena Auer und Fotografin Elisabeth Gatterburg)

The proceeds from the dresses will go to Lotte Tobisch's heartfelt project "Artists helping artists".(Bild: Produzentin Magdalena Auer und Fotografin Elisabeth Gatterburg)

Robe proceeds for "Artists helping artists"
She fondly remembers her aunt Lotte and so it was no coincidence that she wore her clothes in this photo shoot for a good cause. And, according to photographer Gatterburg, cut a great figure in it. All of these gowns from the Grande Dame's collection will soon be sold for the charity "Artists Help Artists", of which Tobisch was once President with full commitment. All of the proceeds will then be donated to the artists' home in Baden, which the former opera ball lady once chaired.

The panel then agreed that Lotte Tobisch had long enjoyed cult status during her lifetime. Also thanks to remarks about our highly praised state guru, such as this: "Look, you can't take all this seriously."