Sydney Opera House turns 50!
“It stands by itself as one of the indisputable masterpieces of human creativity, not only in the 20th century but in the history of humankind.”
Expert evaluation report to the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, 2007.
The Sydney Opera House, positioned next to Circular Quay and adjacent to the Sydney Harbour Bridge, is the centre of activities in the city.
Picture: ©Jack Malipan/123RF.COM
The Sydney Opera House exists because a Danish Architect JuØn Utzon dared to think differently. When an international design competition was launched by then premier, Joseph Cahill in 1955, there were 233 entries representing architects from 32 countries. The criteria specified a large hall seating 3,000 and a small hall for 1,200 people, each to be designed for different uses, including full-scale operas, orchestral and choral concerts, mass meetings, lectures, ballet performances, and other presentations.
Utzon's design of the Sydney Opera House was inspired by nature, its forms, functions and colours.The roof structures of the Opera House are called ‘shells’. The design of the ‘shells’ was one of the most difficult aspects of the building’s design. Utzon claimed that the final design of the shells, was inspired by peeling an orange. It is said that the 'shells' of the 14 separate roofs, form a sphere if combined.
Utzon's revolutionary shell design won the competition and he visited Sydney in 1957 to help supervise the project, eventually moving permanently to Palm Beach, Sydney in 1963.
The lighting of the sails takes place each day from sunset, 9pm, 9.30pm and 10pm.
The Sydney Opera House is definitely bucket list worthy.
Read more about the spectacular Sydney Opera house here: https://www.sydneyoperahouse.com/our-story.html
So in its 50th year, the Sydney Opera House is throwing a party and everyone’s invited. Join us for a year-long festival celebrating the past, present and future of Australia’s most iconic building.
To see the highlights planned to celebrate the grand lady’s 50th go to: https://www.sydneyoperahouse.com/50.html
To see “What’s On” at the grand Dame go to: https://www.sydneyoperahouse.com/events/whats-on.html
Take a tour of the Opera House here: https://www.sydneyoperahouse.com/visit-us/tours-and-experiences.html
Utzon received the Pritzker Architecture Prize, architecture's highest honour, much later in 2003.
He made the impossible possible and left in his wake a structure that has created such an iconic landmark around the world- there are few who would not recognise it.
Sadly, whilst the series of large precast concrete shells we admire today faced a lot of criticism and controversy at the time, which ultimately led to Utzon's resignation in 1966. He left Australia midway through construction - never to return and sadly never to see the icon in person.
The building was formally opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 20 October 1973 and on 28 June 2007, the Sydney Opera House became a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Today, it is Australia’s number one tourist destination, welcoming more than 8.2 million visitors a year and one of the world’s busiest performing arts centres, presenting more than 2000 shows 363 days a year for more than 1.5 million people, from the work of the eight flagship arts companies to which it is home to First Nations’ arts and culture, talks and ideas, theatre and dance and the superstars of classical and contemporary music.
Coincide your visit with a show or the ‘lighting of the sails’ - Badu Gili - meaning 'water light' in the language of the traditional owners of Bennelong Point, the Gadigal people - a free daily experience that explores First Nations stories in a spectacular six-minute projection on the Opera House’s eastern Bennelong sails.
He made the impossible possible and left in his wake a structure that has created such an iconic landmark around the world- there are few who would not recognise it.
Sadly, whilst the series of large precast concrete shells we admire today faced a lot of criticism and controversy at the time, which ultimately led to Utzon's resignation in 1966. He left Australia midway through construction - never to return and sadly never to see the icon in person.
The building was formally opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 20 October 1973 and on 28 June 2007, the Sydney Opera House became a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Today, it is Australia’s number one tourist destination, welcoming more than 8.2 million visitors a year and one of the world’s busiest performing arts centres, presenting more than 2000 shows 363 days a year for more than 1.5 million people, from the work of the eight flagship arts companies to which it is home to First Nations’ arts and culture, talks and ideas, theatre and dance and the superstars of classical and contemporary music.
Coincide your visit with a show or the ‘lighting of the sails’ - Badu Gili - meaning 'water light' in the language of the traditional owners of Bennelong Point, the Gadigal people - a free daily experience that explores First Nations stories in a spectacular six-minute projection on the Opera House’s eastern Bennelong sails.
The lighting of the sails takes place each day from sunset, 9pm, 9.30pm and 10pm.
The Sydney Opera House is definitely bucket list worthy.
Read more about the spectacular Sydney Opera house here: https://www.sydneyoperahouse.com/our-story.html
So in its 50th year, the Sydney Opera House is throwing a party and everyone’s invited. Join us for a year-long festival celebrating the past, present and future of Australia’s most iconic building.
To see the highlights planned to celebrate the grand lady’s 50th go to: https://www.sydneyoperahouse.com/50.html
To see “What’s On” at the grand Dame go to: https://www.sydneyoperahouse.com/events/whats-on.html
Take a tour of the Opera House here: https://www.sydneyoperahouse.com/visit-us/tours-and-experiences.html
