Sydney Opera House
LOCATION
The Sydney Opera House is a superb sculpture of spherical roofs and sail-like shells sheathed in white ceramic tiles. It is located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was declared as a World heritage Site on 28 June 2007.
DESIGN
The mega structure was designed by Jørn Utzon, a Danish architect. The Sydney Opera is one of the most famous performing arts venues in the world.
Sydney soap opera is the home of Opera Australia, the Sydney Theatre Company and the Sydney Symphony. The house is maintained by the Opera House Trust.
CONSTRUCTION
Construction of the building started in March 1959 and was completed in 1973. At the time when construction started, Utzon vehemently opposed that he was yet to complete the designs for the structure, but the government insisted that construction should begin. And so it did!
The original design called for two theatres. The government decided to change the design altered it to have four theatres. Recently, some internal changes to the structure have enabled a fifth theatre to be created.
The original design was so tough that it literally seemed impossible to make. But, Utzon was not heart broken. He started doing research and finally gave the roof vaults a new shape. This made construction possible, but not without delays.
When a new government was elected in New South Wales, it assured to speed up work. And this worked. It was on September 28, 1973 that the first opera was staged.
The first performance in the complex, in the Opera Theatre on 28 September 1973, was the Australian Opera's production of War and Peace by Prokofiev. The Sydney Opera House was officially opened by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on 20 October 1973.
The Opera house has nearly 1000 rooms besides having rehearsal studios, four restaurants, six theatre bars, dressing rooms etc. As a matter of fact, theatres and halls are linked together in the House. More than 3000 events are held on an average at the House.
AUDITORIUM
If you plan to enjoy a show at the opera house, be there on Sundays. Tickets are the cheapest on that day. If you are very lucky, you may even get a scope to watch your favorite show absolutely free. The box office is generally open from Monday through Saturday from 9.00am - 8.30pm.
