Vienna Ice Revue
Encyclopedia
The Vienna Ice Revue was an internationally highly successful ice show based upon Austria's great figure-skating tradition, presenting a large number of world-class figure skaters mainly from Vienna from 1945 to 1971. Representing a Viennese style, the Vienna Ice Revue was different from the competitor enterprise Holiday On Ice
. In 1971 the Vienna Ice Revue was sold to Holiday On Ice and put on the back burner two years later.
, winner of eight European titles, seven World titles and two Olympic gold medals, was the most successful of these skaters. He had a show that was named after him, the Karl Schäfer-Eisrevue, which also played a major role in the movie “Der weiße Traum” (“The White Dream”) in 1943. From an artistic point of view, this show was the forerunner of the Vienna Ice Revue.
began to transpose this concept into music. He was destined to compose 19 “ice operettas” for the Vienna Ice Revue. Music by other composers was also integrated into the program. Most notably, the Blue Danube Waltz by Johann Strauß was played at the end of most productions. In one of the first New Year's Concerts with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra to be broadcast on TV, the Vienna Ice revue danced one of the waltzes.
(as a single skater and together with Rudi Seeliger as a couple), Olympic runner-up Helmut Seibt, European-, World- and Olympic Champions Sissy Schwarz and Kurt Oppelt
, Olympic bronze medalist Ingrid Wendl
, World runner-up Champion Hanna Eigel
, Olympic runner-up Regine Heitzer
and World Champion Emmerich Danzer
. World-class figure skaters from Germany that starred in the Vienna Ice Revue were World Champions Marika Kilius
and Hans-Jürgen Bäumler
and Olympic Champion Manfred Schnelldorfer
.
Symphony in Gold ("Symphonie in Gold"), produced in 1956, presented the European bronze medalist Emmy Puzinger together with Fernand Leemans from Belgium and Jiřína Nekolová
from Czechoslovakia who had finished fourth at the 1948 Olympics.
The movie Revue of Dreams ("Traumrevue"), produced in 1959, is a historical figure-skating document showing three European champions on the ice, with two of them performing in the frame story. Eva Pawlik
played the role of a fictitious Hungarian figure-skating star. Besides, she was actress Waltraut Haas´ double on the ice. Ingrid Wendl
was the second ice star who also played a role in the frame-story. The third European Champion of the Vienna Ice Revue ensemble presented in this movie was Hanna Eigel. Further figure-skating stars presented in this movie: Emmy Puzinger, Fernand Leemans, Rudi Seeliger, Inge and Willi Schilling, Charlotte Michiels and the ice clowns Herbert Bobek and Pieter van Gils.
In the movies Buy A Colorful Balloon ("Kauf dir einen bunten Luftballon"), produced in 1960, and A Star Is Falling From The Sky ("Ein Stern fällt vom Himmel"), produced in 1961, German Champion Ina Bauer
played the main role on the ice and in the frame story together with Austrian thrice Olympic skiing Champion Toni Sailer
.
In the movies The Great Free Programme ("Die große Kür"), produced in 1964, and The Big Luck ("Das große Glück"), produced in 1967, twice World Champions and Olympic runner-ups Marika Kilius
and Hans-Jürgen Bäumler
were the main stars on the ice and in the frame story. Further figure-skating stars presented in these movies: Emmy Puzinger and Fernand Leemans, Ingrid Wendl
, Helmut Löfke and Norbert Felsinger.
, the boss of Holiday On Ice
, bought the enterprise. The Vienna Ice Revue went on dancing under American leadership for two years before the show was finally put on the back burner.
Roman Seeliger, Die Wiener Eisrevue. Einst Botschafterin Österreichs - heute Legende (Bezirksmuseum Wien Meidling, 2008)
Ingrid Wendl, Eis mit Stil (Jugend und Volk, 1979)
Ingrid Wendl, Mein großer Bogen (Böhlau, 2002)
Holiday on Ice
Holiday on Ice is an ice show currently produced by Joop van den Ende's Stage Entertainment Group with its headquarters in Amsterdam, Netherlands...
. In 1971 the Vienna Ice Revue was sold to Holiday On Ice and put on the back burner two years later.
The roots
The Wiener Eisrevue (Vienna Ice Revue) had its roots in the success story of Austrian figure skaters before World War II. Karl SchäferKarl Schäfer
Karl Schäfer was an Austrian figure skater and swimmer. In figure skating, he was a dual Olympic Champion at the 1932 Winter Olympics and the 1936 Winter Olympics, a seven-time World Champion and the eight-time European Champion...
, winner of eight European titles, seven World titles and two Olympic gold medals, was the most successful of these skaters. He had a show that was named after him, the Karl Schäfer-Eisrevue, which also played a major role in the movie “Der weiße Traum” (“The White Dream”) in 1943. From an artistic point of view, this show was the forerunner of the Vienna Ice Revue.
The show's creator Will Petter and composer Robert Stolz
In 1945, some months after the ending of World War II, the Wiener Eisrevue was founded. Will Petter, the “creator” of the Vienna Ice Revue, and his wife Edith who evolved into the revue's choreographer, carried out their idea of replacing “cold spots” with a story line. In 1952, Robert StolzRobert Stolz
Robert Elisabeth Stolz was an Austrian songwriter and conductor as well as a composer of operettas and film music.- Biography :...
began to transpose this concept into music. He was destined to compose 19 “ice operettas” for the Vienna Ice Revue. Music by other composers was also integrated into the program. Most notably, the Blue Danube Waltz by Johann Strauß was played at the end of most productions. In one of the first New Year's Concerts with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra to be broadcast on TV, the Vienna Ice revue danced one of the waltzes.
Touring through Europe
The Vienna Ice Revue toured through most European countries including Switzerland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, France and Spain. In 1953, the show made its first appearance in North Africa (Algier and Oran). Adolf Eder was the commercial director. In the middle of the 1950s, the Vienna Ice Revue was one of the first “Western” institutions to appear in Moscow, Kiev and Leningrad following World War II. In Berlin, Antwerp and Moscow, the program was shown annually about 50 times in each city with an audience of about 10,000 people watching each performance. Later, the Vienna Ice Revue also toured Israel and the United States.Figure skaters mainly from Austria
Many world-famous figure skaters from Austria starred in the Vienna Ice Revue such as Olympic runner-up Eva PawlikEva Pawlik
Eva Pawlik was an Austrian figure skater , a show star, an actress and the first European figure skater to be a TV figure skating commentator .-Childhood:Born in 1927, Pawlik was regarded as a child prodigy, able to jump a single axel and do a large number of spins...
(as a single skater and together with Rudi Seeliger as a couple), Olympic runner-up Helmut Seibt, European-, World- and Olympic Champions Sissy Schwarz and Kurt Oppelt
Kurt Oppelt
Kurt Oppelt was an Austrian figure skater. He won the 1956 Olympics pair skating event with his partner Sissy Schwarz. They also won the World and the European titles that same year. They also won the Austrian National Championships from 1952 thru 1956.Schwarz and Oppelt won the 1956 Olympic title...
, Olympic bronze medalist Ingrid Wendl
Ingrid Wendl
Ingrid Turković-Wendl is an Austrian figure skater, television announcer, and political figure...
, World runner-up Champion Hanna Eigel
Hanna Eigel
Hanna Eigel is an Austrian figure skater. She is the 1955 & 1957 European champion and the 1957 World silver medalist. She represented Austria at the 1956 Winter Olympics, where she placed 5th.-Competitive highlights:...
, Olympic runner-up Regine Heitzer
Regine Heitzer
Regine Heitzer is an Austrian figure skater who competed at the 1960 Winter Olympics and 1964 Winter Olympics.She skated professionally, in the Vienna Ice Revue and Holiday on Ice, from 1967 to 1971 until sidelined by a medical condition that left her without feeling in one of her feet after a...
and World Champion Emmerich Danzer
Emmerich Danzer
Emmerich Danzer was an Austrian figure skater and multiple European and World Champion.-Career:Emmerich Danzer began to skate at the age of five. He attended a Catholic school in Vienna...
. World-class figure skaters from Germany that starred in the Vienna Ice Revue were World Champions Marika Kilius
Marika Kilius
Marika Kilius is a two-time Olympic silver medalist and two-time World champion in pair skating....
and Hans-Jürgen Bäumler
Hans-Jürgen Bäumler
Hans-Jürgen Bäumler is a German pair skater, actor, singer and television host.- Biography :...
and Olympic Champion Manfred Schnelldorfer
Manfred Schnelldorfer
Manfred Schnelldorfer is a German figure skater, and a World and Olympic champion.-Career:...
.
Three European Champions from Austria in one show
From the fall of 1958 to the spring of 1960, the Vienna Ice Revue presented three World runner-up champions and European champions from Austria in one show: Eva Pawlik, Hanna Eigel and Ingrid Wendl, who made her debut as a professional skater in 1958 .Movies featuring the Vienna Ice Revue
Spring On The Ice ("Frühling auf dem Eis"), produced in 1950, was the first movie presenting the Vienna Ice Revue. Eva Pawlik played the main role on the ice and in the frame story together with Austrian actors Hans Holt, Harry Fuß, Oskar Sima, Heinz Conrads and Albin Skoda. Further figure-skating stars presented in this movie: Emmy Puzinger, Hellmut May, Rudi Seeliger, Erni Zlam, Edith Petter and ice clown Bertl Capek.Symphony in Gold ("Symphonie in Gold"), produced in 1956, presented the European bronze medalist Emmy Puzinger together with Fernand Leemans from Belgium and Jiřína Nekolová
Jirína Nekolová
Jiřína Nekolová is a Czech figure skater who competed for Czechoslovakia. She is the 1948 World bronze medalist. She competed at the 1948 Winter Olympics and placed 4th.-Results:...
from Czechoslovakia who had finished fourth at the 1948 Olympics.
The movie Revue of Dreams ("Traumrevue"), produced in 1959, is a historical figure-skating document showing three European champions on the ice, with two of them performing in the frame story. Eva Pawlik
Eva Pawlik
Eva Pawlik was an Austrian figure skater , a show star, an actress and the first European figure skater to be a TV figure skating commentator .-Childhood:Born in 1927, Pawlik was regarded as a child prodigy, able to jump a single axel and do a large number of spins...
played the role of a fictitious Hungarian figure-skating star. Besides, she was actress Waltraut Haas´ double on the ice. Ingrid Wendl
Ingrid Wendl
Ingrid Turković-Wendl is an Austrian figure skater, television announcer, and political figure...
was the second ice star who also played a role in the frame-story. The third European Champion of the Vienna Ice Revue ensemble presented in this movie was Hanna Eigel. Further figure-skating stars presented in this movie: Emmy Puzinger, Fernand Leemans, Rudi Seeliger, Inge and Willi Schilling, Charlotte Michiels and the ice clowns Herbert Bobek and Pieter van Gils.
In the movies Buy A Colorful Balloon ("Kauf dir einen bunten Luftballon"), produced in 1960, and A Star Is Falling From The Sky ("Ein Stern fällt vom Himmel"), produced in 1961, German Champion Ina Bauer
Ina Bauer (figure skater)
Ina Bauer is a German retired competitive figure skater. She is the 1957-1959 German national champion. She twice placed fourth at the World Figure Skating Championships, once in 1958 and once in 1959...
played the main role on the ice and in the frame story together with Austrian thrice Olympic skiing Champion Toni Sailer
Toni Sailer
Anton Engelbert "Toni" Sailer was an Austrian alpine ski racer, who is considered among the best the in the sport. He won three gold medals in alphine skiing at the 1956 Winter Olympics, becoming the only triple gold medalist from that Games and thus the most successful athlete in 1956...
.
In the movies The Great Free Programme ("Die große Kür"), produced in 1964, and The Big Luck ("Das große Glück"), produced in 1967, twice World Champions and Olympic runner-ups Marika Kilius
Marika Kilius
Marika Kilius is a two-time Olympic silver medalist and two-time World champion in pair skating....
and Hans-Jürgen Bäumler
Hans-Jürgen Bäumler
Hans-Jürgen Bäumler is a German pair skater, actor, singer and television host.- Biography :...
were the main stars on the ice and in the frame story. Further figure-skating stars presented in these movies: Emmy Puzinger and Fernand Leemans, Ingrid Wendl
Ingrid Wendl
Ingrid Turković-Wendl is an Austrian figure skater, television announcer, and political figure...
, Helmut Löfke and Norbert Felsinger.
The show's expiration
In 1971, the Vienna Ice Revue slid into a dangerous financial crisis. Morris ChalfenMorris Chalfen
Morris Chalfen was a sports entertainment promoter. He founded the Holiday On Ice show, and later purchased and relocated a near-extinct National Basketball League franchise which became the Los Angeles Lakers....
, the boss of Holiday On Ice
Holiday on Ice
Holiday on Ice is an ice show currently produced by Joop van den Ende's Stage Entertainment Group with its headquarters in Amsterdam, Netherlands...
, bought the enterprise. The Vienna Ice Revue went on dancing under American leadership for two years before the show was finally put on the back burner.
Sources
Roman Seeliger, Die Wiener Eisrevue. Ein verklungener Traum (Hölder-Pichler-Tempsky, 1993)Roman Seeliger, Die Wiener Eisrevue. Einst Botschafterin Österreichs - heute Legende (Bezirksmuseum Wien Meidling, 2008)
Ingrid Wendl, Eis mit Stil (Jugend und Volk, 1979)
Ingrid Wendl, Mein großer Bogen (Böhlau, 2002)