Sydney Opera House |
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building. (facts) The concert hall Opera&Drama Theatre The Playhouse/ Studio/ Reception Hal/Foyer Restaurants Guided tours Sydney Opera House Open Open daily 8:30am-12midnight Nearest Public Transport: Phone: Notes Most events are sold out well in advance of each performance. If you're only in Sydney for a short stay, with only one or two evenings free to attend some sort of concert at the Opera House, you really should reserve seats well before travelling to Sydney.Performance Information For a partial list of future performances throughout
Australia that can be booked in advance from overseas, check out the Showbiz
web site. For a complete list of what will be on at the Opera House itself, check out their web site. www.soh.nsw.gov.au/
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It was however soon discovered that the funding
raised through an appeal fund raised no where near the $7 million that
the project was estimated to cost. The architecture for the building was chosen through an international competition to design a complex for performing arts containing two theatres and a large hall for opera, ballet and large-scale symphonic orchestras with the capability to seat 3,500 people and another smaller hall with seats for 1,200 people. Design entrants were told that they were free to choose any approach that they wished, and that there were no limits to what the potential cost of the structure could be. 233 different design entries were submitted from all over the world. The winner of the competition, announced in
January 1957, was the Danish architect Jorn Utzon. Recent changes to the building and changes to the design required during the build now has resulted in 5 theatres instead of the initially planned two. The project was subject to many delays and cost over-runs, and (probably unfairly) Utzon was often blamed for these. A new government was elected in NSW in 1965, partly on the campaign promise to "do something" about the cost overruns with the design. The government withheld fee payments to Utzon and refused to agree to his design ideas and proposed construction methods. This pretty much forced Utzon to resign, which he did in February 1966 as Stage II was nearing completion. A team of Australian architects took over and after an extensive review of the proposed functions of the building, proceeded with its completion. 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 Sydney Opera House has been the busiest performing arts centre in the world since its opening. In an average year, the Sydney Opera House presents theatre, musicals, opera, contemporary dance, ballet, every form of music from symphony concerts to jazz as well as exhibitions and films. It averages around 3,000 events each year with audiences totalling up to two million. In addition, approximately 200,000 people take a guided tour of the complex each year. The Opera House operates 24 hours a day, every day of the year except Christmas Day and Good Friday.
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| The
building. (facts), The concert hall ,
The Opera&Drama Theatre, The Playhouse/ Studio/ Reception
Hal/Foyer, Restaurants, Guided
tours
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Sydney
was until the opening of the Opera house in 1973 lacking suitable
dedicated music venues. Already back in 1954 the state Premier Joseph
Cahill became involved in a supportive manner to create such a venue,
and a committee was set up to get the project on the way.