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The Sydney Opera House |
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The Sydney Opera House is one of the most famous buildings of Australia,
and in many ways a symbol of the city of Sydney. It is located on
Bennelong Point, a small strech of land that juts out into the bay.
History has it that Bennelong was an aborigine that used to entertain
people at that location.
This spectacular location makes the Opera House visible from a great many places around the bay. There are actually three distinct buildings, sitting on a podium that connects them all. The largest bulding is the Concert Hall, and the one next to it, slightly smaller, is the Opera Theatre. And in front and slightly to the side of the Concert Hall is the Bennelong restaurant, which looks quite cute next to its much larger brethren. The Opera Theatre (we learned this during a backstage tour) has the distinction of having very little wing space, which makes production somewhat of a challenge. The solution was an elaborate set of high-powered elevators that lift the sets - sometimes complete with performers - up to the stage. The House's excellent official site has a detailed history of its construction. Building something like this was not easy at all, and the process involved some amount of controversy and drama. But, good art often does, doesn't it? As a result, both the Concert Hall and the Opera Theatre are actually buildings within buildings - the interiors were built separately from the "shells", by different architects, and are really distinct from each them, structurally as well as in design. During our backstage tour we had the opportunity to go through a passage that went between the outside shell and the "inside building" of the Concert Hall. The outside shells are covered in whitish glossy tile, with dark grout in between them. From any distance though, it looks gorgeous. We attended a concert (in the Concert Hall obviously) which together with just seeing the House was the culmination of a goal long held and finally attained. The music selection was more or less to our taste, I do remember being very surprised that all violonists used a kun because that tends to be frowned upon amongst purist circles in the US. That being said, Lisa played without a kun for a while but has since gone back to using one, because it is just more comfortable.
It is one of the most beautiful buildings I've ever seen. Next: Harbour Bridge |
