After last year's guest starring of Gerard Depardieu, the audience will be enjoying another huge, world-known star at the Open-Air Festival of Szeged. German figure-skater Katarina Witt, who is a two-time Olympic, four-time World, and six-time European champion accepted the invitation to participate in this year's opening production.

Harangozó Gyula, the artistic director of the festival emphasized: Witt, who has also an acting career (for example in the movie Ronin, starring Robert de Niro) besides her unique sports career, will play the Queen of the masquareda in this spectacular production, Un ballo in Maschera, enriched with show-elements. The special feature in the performance, which will be directed by Attila Béres, is that the stage transforms into a huge rink at the zenith of the play, when the masquareda starts, and the audience will be enjoying a fantastic ice-show. The popular figure-skater will be part of this beautiful scene.

Un ballo in Maschera is to be seen on 3rd and 4th of July at the Dóm square of Szeged. The world-known Hungarian designer, Tamás Náray will design the Ice Princess's costume. Her partners will be opera singers, Boldizsár László (Gustavo), Szilvia Rálik (Amelia), Mihály Kálmándi (Renato), Zita Szemere (Oscar) and Bernadett Wiedemann (Ulrica) among others. The conductor of the performance will be the American Barnaby Palmer.