The Sydney Opera House

The Sydney Opera House is one of the most iconic buildings of the modern age, its cluster of great white sail-shells rising dramatically over the blue water of Sydney Harbour beside the Harbour Bridge. A masterpiece of twentieth-century architecture and a UNESCO site, it is a working performing-arts centre hosting opera, concerts and theatre, and the very symbol of Sydney and of Australia.

History

Planning began in the late 1940s, when the conductor Eugene Goossens pressed for a proper venue for opera and orchestral music. The design competition drew 233 entries from architects in 32 countries, and on 29 January 1957 the Danish architect Jørn Utzon was announced as the winner; construction began in March 1959. Utzon left the project on 28 February 1966, after which Peter Hall took charge of the design, and Queen Elizabeth II formally opened the building on 20 October 1973, ten years late: against a 1957 estimate of $7 million it cost A$102 million. In 1999 the trust appointed Utzon a design consultant for future work, and in 2007 the Opera House became a UNESCO World Heritage Site (Wikipedia, Sydney Opera House).

The main sights

• The sail-shell roof - the great white shells over the harbour.
• The harbour setting - the building beside the bridge and blue water.
• A performance or tour - a show inside or a guided architecture tour.
• The views from the water - the opera house seen from a harbour ferry.

When to go

Spring and autumn for the mildest weather; the exterior can be admired any time, floodlit and beautiful at night. A harbour ferry gives a wonderful view, and a performance or a guided tour reveals the interior.

What to expect

The interior is seen only on a paid tour or by attending a performance, so most visitors admire and photograph the exterior, which is free. It is busy at Circular Quay. The famous shells are covered in over a million tiles, more textured up close than the smooth white of photos.

Nearby

The Harbour Bridge, the Royal Botanic Garden and The Rocks are all a short walk.

Key facts