Vienna Opera Opulence Protested : Rock Throwers Brawl Outside the Ball

Rock-throwing demonstrators--some shouting “Eat the rich!”--clashed with police early today near the theater where hundreds were attending Vienna’s premier social event, the Opera Ball.

Police said 52 people were injured, including 27 police officers and three Austrian journalists who were filming the scuffles between police and 1,000 jeering anti-wealth demonstrators.

At one point police turned water cannons on the demonstrators, many of whom identified themselves to journalists as West Germans. A core group of about 200 were said to belong to various professed anarchist and activist groups.

Display of Wealth Protested

Many demonstrators shouted the slogan “Eat the rich!”--a reference to the opulence and grandiose display of wealth that traditionally is part of the annual ball.

Protests have also become a tradition at the Opera Ball, although police said the level of violence this year was unusual.

Several demonstrators heckled ball-goers who arrived at the brightly lit State Opera House in tuxedos and haute couture ball gowns to hear renowned Spanish opera singers Jose Carreras and Placido Domingo and the Opera Ballet Orchestra. The performance benefited leukemia research.

Outside, estimates of damage ranged up to $500,000 as several store windows were broken and parked cars damaged during the melee.

The main pedestrian thoroughfare, the Kaerntner Strasse, was closed off by police and traffic on streets leading to the State Opera House was diverted as much as half a mile away.