Sydney is the oldest and most beautiful city in Australia. Today it is impossible to imagine it without the Sydney Opera House. Since the opening of this majestic Opera, this building has been recognized as a symbol of this extraordinary city.

Opera House in Sydney

The Sydney Opera House is located in a beautiful place, on Cape Bennelong, not far from the Harbor Bridge. Before the construction of the opera, a fort was located in this area, and after it a transport depot.

The construction of the opera house started in 1959 and dragged on for 4 years. The Sydney Theater was first presented by Elizabeth II, Queen of England on October 20, 1973.

The famous architect Jorn Utzon designed the opera. The construction of the opera house is located on an area of ​​2.2 hectares, its length is 185 meters, and its width is 120.

In the construction of the opera house there are about a dozen halls of different sizes for all kinds of gatherings. There are 2.5 thousand seats in the concert hall, 1.5 thousand seats in the opera hall, and over 500 seats in the drama theater hall, and there are also a couple of small halls, one of the halls is located in the courtyard under the open sky.

In addition to these halls, the Sydney Opera House has 2 stages and many entertainment venues. Free performances and concerts are continuously held in front of the theater on the square. Here you can listen to national music.

At the same time, up to 4 different performances can be held in the theater on different stages.

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On the territory of the opera there are 6 bars and 4 restaurants, here after the end of the performance, and during the intermission, visitors can refresh themselves and drink refreshing cocktails. There are also numerous souvenir shops for tourists.

In Sydney, the opera house is one of the extraordinary buildings of modern architecture. The property of the Sydney Opera House is the curtain, which is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the largest on the planet. And another property of the opera house is the largest organ on the planet, with 10,500 pipes, which is also listed in the Guinness Book of Records.

Experts calculated that since the opening of the opera, almost 40 million people have visited it. tourists from various countries, which exceeds the number of residents of all of Australia.

Entrance inside the building is free, but visiting the opera itself is very problematic. You need to buy a ticket for the opera in a couple of months, the pricing policy is quite high.

For visitors, there are guided tours - every day from 9 to 17 hours. In addition, every morning, at 7 am, they organize a performance with breakfast.

In 2007, the World Organization for the Protection of Monuments of Architecture UNESCO included the Sydney Theater in its famous register.

The Sydney Opera House is one of the most famous buildings of the 20th century, and by far Australia's most popular architectural style. It is located in Sydney Harbour, close to the huge Harbor Bridge. The unusual silhouette of the Sydney Opera House resembles a row of sails raised above the surface of the sea. Now smooth lines in architecture are quite common, but it was the Sydney Theater that became one of the first buildings on the planet with such a radical design. Its distinguishing feature is a recognizable shape, which includes a number of identical "shells" or "shells".

The history of the theater is full of drama. It all started in 1955, when the government of the state, whose capital is Sydney, announced an international architectural competition. From the very beginning, great hopes were placed on the construction - it was planned that the implementation of an ambitious project to create a new magnificent theater would serve as an impetus for the development of culture on the Australian continent. The competition attracted the attention of many famous architects of the world: the organizers received 233 applications from 28 countries. As a result, the government opted for one of the most striking and non-standard projects, the author of which was the Danish architect Jorn Utzon. An interesting designer and thinker in search of new means of expression, Utzon designed the building, as if "coming from a fantasy world", as the architect himself said.

In 1957, Utzon arrived in Sydney, and two years later, the construction of the theater began. With the start of work, there were many unforeseen difficulties. It turned out that the Utzon project was not sufficiently developed, the design as a whole turned out to be unstable, and the engineers could not find an acceptable solution to implement the bold idea.

Another failure is an error in the construction of the foundation. As a result, it was decided to destroy the original version and start all over again. Meanwhile, the architect attached paramount importance to the foundation: in his project there were no walls as such, the roof vaults rested immediately on the plane of the foundation.

Initially, Utzon believed that his idea could be realized quite simply: make shells from reinforcing mesh, and then cover them with tiles on top. But calculations showed that such a method would not work for a giant roof. Engineers tried different shapes - parabolic, ellipsoidal, but all to no avail. Time passed, money melted, customer dissatisfaction grew. Utzon, in desperation, again and again drew dozens of different options. Finally, one fine day, it dawned on him: his gaze accidentally stopped on the peels of an orange in the form of familiar triangular segments. It was the very shape that the designers had been looking for for so long! Roof vaults, which are parts of a sphere of constant curvature, have the necessary strength and stability.

After Utzon found a solution to the problem with the roof vaults, construction resumed, but the financial costs turned out to be more significant than originally planned. According to preliminary estimates, the construction of the building took 4 years. But it was built for a long 14 years. The construction budget was exceeded by more than 14 times. The dissatisfaction of the customers grew so much that at some point they removed Utzon from work. The brilliant architect left for Denmark, never to return to Sydney again. He never saw his creation, despite the fact that over time everything fell into place, and his talent and contribution to the construction of the theater were recognized not only in Australia, but throughout the world. The interior design of the Sydney Theater was made by other architects, so there is a difference between the exterior of the building and its interior decoration.

As a result, the segments of the roof, as if crashing into each other, were made of precast and monolithic reinforced concrete. The surface of the concrete "orange peels" was covered with a huge number of tiles made in Sweden. The tiles are covered with a matte glaze, and this allows the roof of the Sydney Theater today to be used as a reflective screen for video art and the projection of bright images. The roof sashes of the Sydney Opera House were built using special cranes ordered from France - the theater was one of the first buildings in Australia to be erected using cranes. And the highest "shell" of the roof corresponds to the height of a 22-story building.

The Sydney Opera House was officially completed in 1973. The theater was opened by Queen Elizabeth II, the grand opening was accompanied by fireworks and a performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. The first performance performed in the new theater was S. Prokofiev's opera "War and Peace".

Today the Sydney Opera House is Australia's largest cultural center. More than 3,000 events are held here every year, and the annual audience is 2 million spectators. The theater program includes an opera called "The Eighth Miracle", which tells about the difficult history of the construction of the building.

The Sydney Opera House is Australia's most famous building, built after a long period of construction in 1974. Disputes about its architectural style are still going on, but the theater has long become a symbol and hallmark of this distant city.

Some believe that the opera in Sydney is a frozen musical composition, others are snow-white sails filled with wind, others are sure that from afar the building looks like a huge whale thrown onto the seashore by a storm.

The most unique thing about the theater is its roof, made in the form of sails or flower petals. It cannot be confused with any other building. The Sydney Opera House is on the famous UNESCO World Heritage List.

Description

It is well known that the vast majority of other theaters in the world were built in the strict classical style. And the Sydney Opera House is a real expressionism in architecture, a fresh look at classical music and opera singing.

It has an unusual roof and stands on stilts in the water that surrounds it. The theater has a huge area - about 22,000 square meters. m, many large halls, studios, cafes, restaurants, boutiques, souvenir shops and other premises.

The largest theater hall in terms of area is the concert hall, which can accommodate more than 2.6 thousand people. A gigantic organ is installed in this hall, there are often concerts of organ music.

The second largest hall is called the Opera House, its capacity is 1.5 thousand people, operas and ballets are staged here. The third hall is called the Drama Theatre, it is designed for 500 spectators and is intended for theatrical performances.

theater roof

The height of the roof of this building is almost 70 m, and the radius is 75 m. It is made in the form of many petals or sails nested in each other. The total weight of the roof is over 30,000 kg.

The surface of the segments that cover the roof of the Sydney Opera House is covered with smooth white tiles. Interestingly, during the day, depending on the lighting, its color changes from pure white to light beige.

Due to the fact that the surface of the roof is not smooth, serious acoustic problems arose inside it. Therefore, I had to additionally make a ceiling with sound reflection. The reflective function is performed by special gutters on the ceiling.

The first author of the theater

The idea to build an opera house in Sydney came to English conductor Eugene Goossens, who came to Australia to record concerts on the radio. There was not a single building where the opera could be located.

At the request of Gessens, the Australian authorities decided to build a theater where one could listen not only to classical music, but also to modern musical works.

In Sydney, a cape was chosen on the seafront next to the embankment. There was then a tram park, it was moved to another place, and a professional competition was immediately announced for the best project for the future opera house.

Goossens, in connection with the developed stormy activity in the construction of this theater, had enemies and envious people. Suddenly, customs found prohibited items in his luggage and he was forced to leave Australia.

The hallmark of not only Sydney, but the whole of Australia is the Sydney Opera House: tourists are interested in its photo, description, and the place where it is located. It is he who is in a hurry to visit travelers from all over the world and take a breathtaking picture. The unique architecture and the incredible idea of ​​the designers turned the theater into a real wonder of the world.

How the theater was created: a brief history

Theater in Sydney / Jim Bowen, flickr.com

When it comes to distant Australia, most tourists, and even ordinary people, will definitely remember the Sydney Opera House. Sometimes it even seems that Sydney is the actual capital of the state, although in reality it is not. The grandiose architectural structure is loved not only by indigenous Australians, but also by visiting guests.

The history of its creation began in the middle of the 20th century, when Eugene Goossens became the conductor of the symphony orchestra. The problem with the lack of space for the opera has always been, and concerts were held in the town hall, but it was Eugene who announced this publicly. The dream of this man was to create such a hall where music will sound in a new way, and it will be possible to stage an opera.

However, at that time such a statement was very bold, if not absurd. Australia experienced far from the best of times, recovering from the war years. The economy was in chaos, and money was nowhere to be found. But in 1954, Eugene's words were remembered by the authorities, and they appointed a fundraiser. For 20 years, while the majestic opera was being built, more than a hundred million dollars were collected.

For a long time, the architects faced the question: where to place the opera? The ideal place was Cape Bennelong. The building not only stands out among the city infrastructure, but, like a royal yacht, is located off the coast of the ocean.

Icon in Sydney / Andrew Fysh, flickr.com

The Sydney Opera project was developed on a competitive basis - architects from all over the world proposed hundreds of interesting and unusual projects to the jury. However, the victory went to the master from Denmark. Jorn Utson upon arrival in Australia saw ships passing by, which inspired him with sails, charm and grace.

The project attracted specialists with its freshness - the building looked so unusual, unique and innovative that it could not help attracting the eye. However, ill-wishers compared the new miracle with mating turtles - the idea was extremely bold.

The construction was planned to be completed in 4 years, but the work dragged on for as much as 14 years. Nevertheless, in the end, Australia saw the Sydney Opera House - luxurious and unique, such that the whole world was surprised.

Interior decoration and halls

Interior of the Opera House / Andrew Fysh, flickr.com

The architecture of the theater is amazing - and this is expressed not only in appearance, the decoration, acoustics, hall capacity, interiors are unique. Here are some details:

• The Sydney Opera House consists of a thousand rooms;
• sail height is 57 m;
• the roof is made of small white tiles;
• according to the project, the architect planned to create 2 halls, in fact, 5 were built;
• the halls of the theater are decorated with pink granite.

Every day, the walls of the opera are visited by thousands of people, many of them are tourists in a hurry to see for themselves the grandeur and beauty of the building. You can order tickets for a performance or an excursion to the opera house on the website.

Video: Sydney Opera House.

Each hall of the theater has a strict purpose:

1. The concert hall is designed for almost 2,700 people, it is distinguished by rich decoration and incredible acoustics - no one else has been able to repeat such an effect. Mass concerts are held here;
2. Opera - its capacity - a little more than 1.5 thousand people, fans of opera and ballet. A distinctive feature of this hall are revolving platforms and an extraordinary theatrical curtain, made according to an individual project;
3. Dramatic - accommodates more than 500 people, performances, productions, plays are arranged here;
4. Play House - a small room where film sessions are rarely held, and training sessions are traditionally assigned;
5. Studio - an open-air hall where avant-garde performances are staged.

Halls, incredible decoration, colossal efforts spent on construction, an amazing idea and a brilliant embodiment - this is the Sydney Theater. It beckons, captivates and attracts visitors.

Useful and interesting facts about the theater

Matthew Wu/flickr.com

The Sydney Opera House has always been surrounded by secrets, mysteries and amazing stories:

• It was rumored that the chairman of the jury chose the project by chance, simply pulling it out of a common pile of papers. He did this, pretty drunk and tired after a series of endless views. Although, no doubt, such rumors were created by the envious of a talented architect.
• Watson never saw his brainchild, even before the completion of construction, he quarreled with the authorities and left Australia. Even when he was awarded prestigious awards, and the building was replenished by the UNESCO fund, he did not return here, and soon died.
• It is not necessary to wear evening attire to visit the theater; there is no dress code here;
• In addition to performances and concerts, the opera hosts regular tours where tourists can simply walk through the beautiful halls.
• You can visit the theater for $35 for adults and $13 for children, which is how much it costs to inspect the interior.

Getting to the opera house is not difficult - it is accessible to all segments of the population, and concert tickets are inexpensive. The official website of the institution presents a complete repertoire, buses and ferries are constantly running, delivering guests. So if you want to visit Sydney, visiting this attraction should be in your schedule in the first place.