Every year since 2009, a pastry chef has made a cake for a well-known celebrity. The presentation of this sweet work of art takes place at midnight of the ball and is one of the highlights of the ZuckerBäckerball.
At the ball in 2019, the two singers Ildikó Raimondi and Herbert Lippert shared a chocolate cake from Hübler confectionery. This year, Lippert will be the first to receive a celebrity cake for the second time.
In 2024, the celebrity cake will be awarded to chamber singer and universal artist Herbert Lippert. He will also give a musical performance during the festive ball opening.
How does it feel to be the first to receive the celebrity cake twice?
Herbert Lippert: “It feels very good. (smiles) I complained at the time that I had to share the cake with my colleague, because I have five children and five grandchildren. So one needs a bigger piece of cake than half of it in 2019, that wasn’t enough. Well, that was probably taken into account, now I get one on my own… Joking aside, it is a great honour.”
At the 118th ZuckerBäckerball, you received a chocolate cake. Do you already know what kind of cake you wish this time?
Herbert Lippert: “Yes, this decision is not difficult for me at all - for me there is only nougat. So it must be with a lot of nougat.”
Do you attend many balls?
Herbert Lippert: “I have been to the ZuckerBäckerball five times, it is the only ball I go to repeatedly. Of course, as a member of the Vienna State Opera ensemble, I went to the opera balls regularly, but I am now retired from the State Opera and am more a ZuckerBäckerball-goer.”
What do you think makes the ZuckerBäckerball so special?
Herbert Lippert: “It is this abundance of wonderful delicacies. On site you can see cake creations, you can see how everything is prepared and also desserts that are prepared on site. It is a tactile pleasure, you can eat something, you can try something, you can touch something! The cake works of art, of course, not, although I believe that you can even eat some of them in the end. That is something and appeals to the youth, too!”
You are performing at the opening, what is the difference between a performance on a stage, where you sing to an audience, and a performance in a ballroom, where you are surrounded?
Herbert Lippert: “Actually, it doesn’t make much difference. You have to sing well anyway, whether there are ten people there or a thousand – the main thing is that they are there and I am in good shape.”
Will you be seen on the dancefloors of the ball?
Herbert Lippert: “Of course, I plan one or two waltzes with my wonderful wife, but otherwise I’m not much of a dancer.”
On January 11, 2024, the celebrity cake will be presented to the Austrian opera singer and painter Herbert Lippert at the 121st ZuckerBäckerball. The famous tenor will give a musical performance with songs by the composer Franz Lehár during the festive ball opening. Lehár’s music will also accompany the ballet dancers of the “Vereinigung Wiener Staatsopernballett”, who will perform to his waltz “Gold and Silver” (op. 79).
The following celebrities have been able to enjoy their individual cake creations since 2009:
120th ZuckerBäckerball - 2023: Yury Revich (violin shaped cake from Konditorei Groissböck)
119th ZuckerBäckerball - 2020: Daniela Fally (Sachertorte from Kurkonditorei Oberlaa)
118th ZuckerBäckerball - 2019: Ildikó Raimondi and Herbert Lippert (chocolate cake from the Hübler coffee shop)
117th ZuckerBäckerball - 2018: Patrick Lindner (giant tree cake from Aida)
116th ZuckerBäckerball - 2017: Vincent Schirrmacher (Sachertorte from Hotel Sacher Vienna)
115th ZuckerBäckerball - 2016: Natalia Ushakova (Malakofftorte from K.u.K. Hofzuckerbäcker L. Heiner)
114th ZuckerBäckerball - 2015: Alice Tumler (Topfen-Marille Torte from the confectionery K.u.K. Hofzuckerbäcker Demel)
113th ZuckerBäckerball - 2014: Maya Haakvort (nut cake from the pastry shop Demel)
112th ZuckerBäckerball - 2013: "Mr. Life Ball" Gery Keszler (chocolate mango cake from the Hanauer pastry shop)
111th ZuckerBäckerball - 2012: Lilian Klebow (chocolate dream from the pastry shop Groissböck)
110th ZuckerBäckerball - 2011: Michael Konsel (chocolate cake from the Kurkonditorei Oberlaa)
109th ZuckerBäckerball - 2010: Barbara Karlich (Malakofftorte from Landtmann's Feine Patisserie)
108th ZuckerBäckerball - 2009: Birgit Sarata (chocolate mousse cake with strawberries from the K.u.K. Hofzuckerbäcker Gerstner)