Hannibal 2017 – White Elephant moves from Salzburg to Sölden (AUT)

The “Hannibal” glacier play shown at Rettenbach Glacier, Sölden, Austria, on April 21, 2017, has hit the headlines even months before the show. In February, a huge elephant moved from Salzburg to the mountains of the Ötztal Alps. The shining white elephant 4 x 6 metre large was freed from the tiny rooms of Salzburg Festival’s Large Festival House and found a new home on 3,000 metres above sea-level.

The white elephant played a leading part in the Richard Strauss opera “The Love of Danae” in 2016. Hannibal director Hubert Lepka watched the Alvis Hermanis production at the Salzburg Festival and seized the opportunity to secure a new player for his glacier spectacle. A truck of Bergbahnen Sölden brought the pachyderm to the perpetual ice. “Thanks to Salzburg Festival, we could release the sculpture from the scenery zoo and set it free in the mountains of the Ötztal Alps”, Hubert Lepka said.