Sydney Opera House

The Sydney Opera House in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia is one of the most distinctive and famous 20th-century buildings, and one of the most famous performing arts venues in the world.

History

Origins

The Sydney Opera House can be said to have had its beginnings during the late 1940s in the endeavours of Eugene Goossens, the Director of the NSW State Conservatorium of Music at the time, who lobbied to have a suitable venue for large theatrical productions built. At the time, the normal venue for such productions was the Sydney Town Hall, but this venue was simply not large enough. By 1954, Goossens succeeded in gaining the support of NSW Premier Joe Cahill, who called for designs for a dedicated opera house.

Related Topics:
1940s - Eugene Goossens - Conservatorium of Music - Sydney Town Hall - 1954 - NSW Premier - Joe Cahill

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It was also Goossens who insisted that Bennelong Point be the site for the Opera House. Cahill had wanted it to be on or near the Wynyard Railway Station, located in the north-western Sydney CBD.

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The competition that Cahill organised received 233 entries. The basic design that was finally accepted in 1955 was submitted by Jørn Utzon, a Danish architect. Utzon arrived in Sydney in 1957 to help supervise the project.

Related Topics:
Jørn Utzon - 1957

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Utzon and construction of the Opera House

The Bennelong Point Tram Depot, occupying the site at the time of these plans, was demolished in 1958, and formal construction of the Opera House began in March, 1959. The project was built in three stages. Stage I (1959-1963) consisted of building the upper podium. Stage II (1963-1967) saw the construction of the outer shells. Stage III consisted of the interior design and construction (1967-73).

Related Topics:
Bennelong Point Tram Depot - 1958 - March - 1959

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Stage I was called for tender on December 5, 1958, and work commenced on the podium on May 5, 1959 by the firm of Civil & Civic. The government had pushed for work to begin so early because they were afraid funding, or public opinion, might turn against them. However major structural issues still plagued the design (most notably the sails, which were still parabolic at the time).

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By January 23, 1961, work was running 47 weeks behind, mainly due to unexpected difficulties (wet weather, unexpected difficulty diverting stormwater, construction beginning before proper engineering drawings had been prepared, changes of original contract documents). Work on the podium was finally completed on August 31, 1962.

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Stage II, the shells were a originally designed as a series of parabolas, however engineers Ove Arup and partners had not been able to find an acceptable solution to constructing them. In mid 1961 Utzon handed the engineers his solution to the problem, the shells all being created as ribs from a sphere of the same radius. This not only satisfied the engineers, and cut down the project time drastically from what it could have been (it also allowed the roof tiles to be prefabricated in sheets on the ground, instead of being stuck on individually in mid-air), but also created the wonderful shapes so instantly recognisable today. Ove Arup and partners supervised the construction of the shells, estimating on April 6, 1962 that it would be completed between August 1964, and March 1965. By the end of 1965, the estimated finish for stage II was July 1967.

Related Topics:
Ove Arup and partners

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Stage III, the interiors, started with Utzon moving his entire office to Sydney in February 1963. However, there was a change of government in 1965, and the new Askin government declared that the project was now under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Public Works. In October 1965, Utzon gave the Minister for Public Works, Davis Hughes, a schedule setting out the completion dates of parts of his work for stage III. Significantly, Hughes withheld permission for the construction of plywood prototypes for the interiors (Utzon was at this time working closely with Ralph Symonds, an inventive and progressive manufacturer of plywood, based in Sydney). This eventually forced Utzon to leave the project on February 28th, 1966. He said that Hughes'es refusal to pay Utzon any fees and the lack of collaboration caused his resignation, and later famously described the situation as "Malice in Blunderland". In March 1966, Hughes offered him a reduced role as 'design architect', under a panel of executive architects, without any supervisory powers over the House's construction but Utzon rejected this.

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The cost of the project, even in October of that year, was still only $22.9 million, less than a quarter of the final cost...

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Construction after Utzon

The second stage of construction was still in process when Utzon was forced to resign. His position was principally taken over by Peter Hall, who became largely responsible for the interior design. Other persons appointed that same year to replace Utzon were E.H. Farmer as government architect, D.S. Littlemore and Lionel Todd.

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The four significant changes to the design after Utzon left were:

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• The cladding to the podium and the paving (the podium was originally not to be clad down to the water, but left open. Also the paving chosen was different from what Utzon would have chosen)
• The construction of the glass walls (Utzon was planning to use a system of prefabricated plywood mullions, and although eventually a quite inventive system was created to deal with the glass, it is different from Utzon's design)
• Use of the halls (The major hall which was originally to be a multipurpose opera/concert hall, became solely a concert hall. The minor hall, originally for stage productions only, had the added function of opera to deal with. Two more theatres were also added. This completely changed the layout of the interiors, where the stage machinery, already designed and fitted inside the major hall, was pulled out and largely thrown away)
• The interior designs (Utzon's plywood corridor designs, and his acoustic and seating designs for the interior of both halls, were scrapped completely.More importantly Utzon considered acoustics from the start of design.These designs were subsequently modelled and found to be acoustically perfect.As such the current internal organization is sub-optimal.)

The Opera House was formally completed in 1973, at a cost of $102 million. The original cost estimate in 1957 was £3,500,000 ($7 million). The original completion date set by the government was January 26, 1963.

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Opening

The Opera House was formally opened by Queen Elizabeth II on October 20, 1973. The opening was televised and included fireworks and a performance of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9.

Related Topics:
Queen Elizabeth II - October 20 - Beethoven - Symphony No. 9

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Prior to the opening, two performances had already taken place there. 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.

Related Topics:
September 28 - Sergei Prokofiev - September 29 - Sydney Symphony Orchestra - Charles Mackerras - Birgit Nilsson

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After the opening

By 1975, the substantial construction bill for the Opera House had been finally paid off, largely through a public lottery system.

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The House has been subject to some additions and improvements since its opening in 1973. The pipe organ in the Concert Hall was not completed until 1979. In 1988, a two-level walkway along the western side of Bennelong Point was added as part of Australia's bicentenary celebrations. In 1999, a fifth theatre, the Playhouse, was added to the Opera House.

Related Topics:
Pipe organ - 1979 - 1988 - 1999

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In 1997, French urban climber, Alain "Spiderman" Robert, using only his bare hands and feet and with no safety devices of any kind, scaled the building's exterior wall all the way to the top.

Related Topics:
1997 - French - Alain "Spiderman" Robert

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It received attention during Sydney 2000 Olympics. It was included in the Olympic Torch route to the Olympic stadium, and involved Australian swimmer Samantha Riley standing on top of the Opera House waving the Olympic torch. It was the backdrop of some Olympic events, including the triathlon—which began at the Opera House—and the yachting events on Sydney Harbour.

Related Topics:
Sydney 2000 Olympics - Samantha Riley

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Security at the Opera House has increased as the result of the likelihood of it attracting attention of terrorists because the Australian Government's support of the invasion of Iraq. This security did not prevent two climbers painting a "No War" slogan at the top of one sail in March 2003. The repair bill for this was later revealed to be over $100,000.

Related Topics:
Invasion of Iraq - March 2003

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Following an arrangement made in 1999, plans were made to change Hall's internal design of the Opera House to that of Utzon's. The redesign involves the house's reception hall and opera theatre, and will be supervised by Utzon. As Utzon is too old to travel by plane, he undertakes the supervision from his home in Majorca. Allowances will be made for modern day technology and requirements. In September 2004, the redesign of the Reception Hall of the opera house was completed, but is now only rarely available for public inspection.

Related Topics:
1999 - Majorca - September 2004

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Separate facts

The Sydney Opera house:

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• Was designed by Danish architect Jorn Utzon.
• Was opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 20 October 1973.
• Presented, as its first performance, The Australian Opera's production of War and Peace by Prokofiev.
• Cost $AU 102,000,000 to build.
• Conducts 3000 events each year.
• Provides guided tours to 200,000 people each year.
• Has an annual audience of 2 million for its performances.
• Includes 1000 rooms.
• Is 185 metres long and 120 metres wide.
• Has 2194 pre-cast concrete sections as its roof.
• Has roof sections weighing up to 15 tons.
• Has roof sections held together by 350 km of tensioned steel cable.
• Has over 1 million tiles on the roof.
• Uses 6225 square metres of glass and 645 kilometres of electric cable.