Sydney Opera House
The Sydney Opera House is located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the most distinctive and famous 20th century buildings, and one of the most famous performing arts venues in the world. Situated on Bennelong Point in Sydney Harbour, with parkland to its south and close to the equally famous Sydney Harbour Bridge, the building and its surroundings form an iconic Australian image. To some, the spherical-sectioned shells are reminiscent of the flotilla of sailboats commonly cruising there. It is a major tourist attraction even though most visitors have little interest in attending performances.
As well as many touring theatre, ballet, and musical productions, the Opera House is the home of Opera Australia, the Sydney Theatre Company and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. It is administered by the Opera House Trust, under the New South Wales Ministry of the Arts.
Description
The Opera House covers 1.8 hectares (4.5 acres) of land. It is 183 metres (605 feet) long and about 120 metres (388 feet) wide at its widest point. It is supported on 580 concrete piers sunk up to 25 metres below sea level. Its power supply is equivalent for a town of 25,000 people. The power is distributed by 645 kilometres of electrical cable.
The roofs of the House are constructed of 1.056 million glossy white and matte cream Swedish-made tiles, though from a distance the tiles look only white. Despite their self-cleaning nature, they are still subject to periodic maintenance and replacement. The structures are made so that a breeze will go in between them.
Performance venues and facilities
The Sydney Opera House contains five theatres, five rehearsal studios, two main halls, four restaurants, six bars and numerous souvenir shops.
The building's interior is composed of pink granite mined from Tarana, NSW and wood and brush box plywood supplied from northern NSW.
The theatres are in a series of large shells, conceived by dissecting a hemisphere. The Concert Hall and Opera Theatre are each contained in the two largest groups of shells, and the other theatres are located on the sides of the shell groupings. A much smaller group of shells set to one side of the Monumental steps and houses the Bennelong Restaurant.
The five theatres making up the performance facilities:
- The Concert Hall, with 2,679 seats, contains the Sydney Opera House Grand Organ, the largest mechanical tracker action organ in the world with over 10,000 pipes.
- The Opera Theatre, with 1,547 seats, is the main performance space for Opera Australia; it is also used by the Australian Ballet Company.
- The Drama Theatre, with 544 seats.
- The Playhouse, with 398 seats.
The Studio Theatre, with 364 seats.
Besides theatrical productions, venues at the Sydney Opera House are also used for functions such as weddings, parties and conferences.
Opening
The Opera House was formally opened by Queen Elizabeth II, in her capacity as Queen of Australia, on October 20, 1973, which crowds of millions attended. The opening was televised and included fireworks and a performance of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9.
Prior to the opening, two performances had already taken place in the finished building. On September 28, 1973, a performance of Sergei Prokofiev's War and Peace was played at the Opera Theatre. On September 29, the first public concert in the Concert Hall took place. It was performed by the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Charles Mackerras and with accompanying singer Birgit Nilsson.
During the construction of the Opera House, a number of lunchtime performances were arranged for the workers, with Paul Robeson the first artist to perform at the (unfinished) Opera House in 1960.
Symbolism
The Sydney Opera House has been used as the basis of the official 2000 Summer Olympics logo and medal, and the logo of the Sydney Swans Australian Football League, Sydney Roosters National Rugby League team, Sydney Kings National Basketball League (Australia) team, Sydney FC A-League, Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, and the logo of the AMSA (Australian Medical Student Association) Convention of 2005.
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