Conclusion

Conclusion

The history of the Sydney Opera House is rich. It started in 1957 when it was a project won by Jorn Utzon and in 1973 when the opening of the building took place. The Sydney Opera House is a modern expressionist design, with a series of large concrete “shells”. The building's unusual exterior and interior impress all visitors to Sydney. The Sydney Opera House constitutes a masterpiece of the 20^th century architecture.

The Sydney Opera House is a modern expressionist design, with a series of large precast concrete “shells”, each composed of sections of a sphere of 75.2 metres radius, forming the roofs of the structure, set on a monumental podium. The building covers 1.8 hectares of land and is 183 m long and 120 m wide at its widest point. It is supported on 588 concrete piers sunk as much as 25 m below sea level.

Apart from the tile of the shells and the glass curtain walls of the foyer spaces, the building's exterior is largely clad with aggregate panels composed of pink granite quarried at Tarana. Significant interior surface treatments also include off-form concrete, Australian white birch plywood supplied from Wauchope in northern New South Wales, and brush box glulam.

The Sydney Opera House has got enormous cultural significance. It was designed to boast not only structural engineering and building technology but it was implied for different uses, including full-scale operas, chamber music, symphonies, dance, choral performances, and even rock 'n' roll, mass meetings, lectures, ballet performances and other presentations.

Only a handful of buildings around the world are as architecturally and culturally significant as the Sydney Opera House. But what sets it apart from, say, the Taj Mahal and the great pyramids of Egypt is that this white-sailed construction caught midbillow over the waters of Sydney Cove is a working building.

Most visitors are surprised to learn it's not just an opera house but a full-scale performing-arts complex with five major performance spaces. The Sydney Opera House plays the function as a world-class performing arts centre.

The Sydney Opera House’s contribution to the success of the Sydney 2000 Olympics was extensive. It played a pivotal role in bringing together entertainment, sport and the community. It was the time of great excitement as the Sydney Opera House rolled out its new programming initiatives.

Major Olympics and related events staged at the Sydney Opera House included the International Olympic Committee Opening Ceremony, Olympic Torch Relay, men’s and women’s triathlon events, yachting medal presentations and the closing night fireworks viewing.

Between 18 August and 30 September the Sydney Opera House hosted 293 Festival performances and events which attracted some 201,924 people.

Clearly, the year was dominated by the Olympics. For the Sydney Opera House, the challenge was to become a secure, “locked down” sporting venue, handling a huge influx of spectators and tourists, whilst simultaneously maintaining its prime role as a performing arts centre, hosting the Olympic Arts Festival.

The Role of the Sydney Opera House during 2000 Olympic Games

The Role of the Sydney Opera House during 2000 Olympic Games

Major Olympics and related events staged at the Sydney Opera House included the International Olympic Committee Opening Ceremony, Olympic Torch Relay, men’s and women’s triathlon events, yachting medal presentations and the closing night fireworks viewing.

Between 18 August and 30 September the Sydney Opera House hosted 293 Festival performances and events which attracted some 201,924 people.

Festival events showcased Australian performing arts and featured the Sydney Opera House’s regular presenters, including the Sydney Symphony, Opera Australia, Bell Shakespeare Company, The Australian Ballet, Sydney Dance Company and the Australian Chamber Orchestra, not to mention many other locally – and internationally - renowned presenters and artists.

The Sydney Opera House also collaborated with a range of new partners, including Company B Belvoir, the National Institute of Dramatic Arts (NIDA) and the Australian Theatre for Young People. The Festival included dance, visual arts, film, opera, theatre, literature and music by local and international presenters.

On Friday, 20 September, changeovers were being made simultaneously in all five of the Sydney Opera House’s major venues. Despite these demands all Festival schedules and requirements were met.

To ensure that the Sydney Opera House was prepared for the Olympics and able to respond to the large number of events and visitors, an organisation-wide training program was put in place. It included whole-of-organisation information briefings and specific sessions on staff reassignment, customer service, disability awareness,

crisis management and media awareness.

The Sydney Opera House hosted the performance and recording of their contributions to the Olympic  Games’ Opening and Closing ceremonies. A facility connecting 60 microphones in the Concert Hall to seven audio consoles in the temporary studio was set up specifically to record the performances.

The sessions went so smoothly that ARIA, Sony Music and BMG presented the Sydney Opera House with a special award for its contribution to ”the biggest recording project ever undertaken in Australia.” Reaching “Double Platinum” over 170,000 copies of the recordings were sold.

Highlights during the 2000 year included major new productions, significant appearances by internationally acclaimed Australian singers and debuts by major international artists.

Some 17 different opera productions were performed including participation in the Olympic Arts Festival with Simon Boccanegra, Capriccio, Don Giovanni, Tosca and Opera and Ballet Gala with Sylvie Guillem.

Finally, the Sydney Opera House’s contribution to the success of the Sydney 2000 Olympics was extensive. It played a pivotal role in bringing together entertainment, sport and the community. It was the time of great excitement as the Sydney Opera House rolled out its new programming initiatives.

The Sydney Opera House: its Cultural Significance

The Sydney Opera House: its Cultural Significance

The Sydney Opera House is not only of outstanding universal value for its achievements in structural engineering and building technology but also it has got enormous cultural significance. The building is a great artistic monument and an icon, accessible to society at large. It is a daring and visionary experiment that has had an enduring influence on the emergent architecture of the late 20^th century. Utzon's original design concept and his unique approach to building gave an impulse to a collective creativity of architects, engineers and builders.

The Sydney Opera House plays the function as a world-class performing arts centre. The Conservation Plan specifies the need to balance the roles of the building as an architectural monument and as a state of the art performing centre, thus retaining its authenticity of use and function [9].

The Sydney Opera House was included in the National Heritage List in 2005 under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 and on the State Heritage Register of New South Wales in 2003 under the Heritage Act 1977 [10]. Listing in the National Heritage List implies that the World Heritage property may have a significant impact on the heritage values.

Only a handful of buildings around the world are as architecturally and culturally significant as the Sydney Opera House. But what sets it apart from, say, the Taj Mahal and the great pyramids of Egypt is that this white-sailed construction caught mid billow over the waters of Sydney Cove is a working building.

Most visitors are surprised to learn it's not just an opera house but a full-scale performing-arts complex with five major performance spaces.

The biggest and grandest is the 2,690-seat Concert Hall, which has the best acoustics of any building of its type in the world. Come here to experience opera, chamber music, symphonies, dance, choral performances, and even rock 'n' roll. The Opera Theatre is smaller, seating 1,547, and books operas, ballets, and dance. The Drama Theatre, seating 544, and the Playhouse, seating 398, specialize in plays and smaller-scale performances. The Boardwalk, seating 300, is used for dance and experimental music [4; p. 42].

Guided tours of the Opera House last about an hour and are conducted daily from 9am to 5pm, except on Good Friday and December 25. Though guides try to take groups into the main theaters and around the foyers, if you don't get to see everything you want, it's because the Opera House is a working venue.

There's almost always some performance, practice, or setting up to be done. Reservations are essential. Tour sizes are limited, so be prepared to wait. Tours include about 200 stairs.

Thus, the Sydney Opera House has got enormous cultural significance. It was designed to boast not only structural engineering and building technology but it was implied for different uses, including full-scale operas, chamber music, symphonies, dance, choral performances, and even rock 'n' roll, mass meetings, lectures, ballet performances and other presentations.

The History and Design of Sydney Opera House

The History and Design of the Sydney Opera House

The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in the Australian city of Sydney. It was conceived and largely built by Danish architect Jorn Utzon, finally opening in 1973 after a long gestation starting with his competition-winning design in 1957.

According to legend the Utzon design was rescued from a final cut of 30 "rejects" by the noted Finnish architect Eero Saarinen. The prize was £5,000. Utzon visited Sydney in 1957 to help supervise the project. His office moved to Sydney in February 1963. Formal construction of the Opera House began in March 1959. The project was built in three stages [3; p. 38].

Utzon received the Pritzker Prize, architecture's highest honour, in 2003. The Pritzker Prize citation stated: “There is no doubt that the Sydney Opera House is his masterpiece. It is one of the great iconic buildings of the 20th century, an image of great beauty that has become known throughout the world – a symbol for not only a city, but a whole country and continent.” [2; p. 271].

The Sydney Opera House is situated on Bennelong Point in Sydney Harbour, close to the Sydney Harbour Bridge and neighboured by the Royal Botanic Gardens.

The Sydney Opera House is a modern expressionist design, with a series of large precast concrete “shells”, each composed of sections of a sphere of 75.2 metres radius, forming the roofs of the structure, set on a monumental podium. The building covers 1.8 hectares of land and is 183 m long and 120 m wide at its widest point. It is supported on 588 concrete piers sunk as much as 25 m below sea level [3; p. 58].

Apart from the tile of the shells and the glass curtain walls of the foyer spaces, the building's exterior is largely clad with aggregate panels composed of pink granite quarried at Tarana. Significant interior surface treatments also include off-form concrete, Australian white birch plywood supplied from Wauchope in northern New South Wales, and brush box glulam [1; p. 103].

Planning for the Sydney Opera House began in the late 1940s, when Eugene Goossens, the Director of the NSW State Conservatorium of Music, lobbied for a suitable venue for large theatrical productions. The normal venue for such productions, the Sydney Town Hall, was not considered large enough. By 1954, Goossens succeeded in gaining the support of NSW Premier Joseph Cahill, who called for designs for a dedicated opera house. It was also Goossens who insisted that Bennelong Point be the site for the Opera House [2; p. 92]. Its significance is based on its unparalleled design and construction; its exceptional engineering achievements and technological innovation and its position as a world-famous icon of architecture

To sum up, the history of the Sydney Opera House is rich. It started in 1957 when it was a project won by Jorn Utzon and in 1973 when the opening of the building took place. The Sydney Opera House is a modern expressionist design, with a series of large concrete “shells”. The building's unusual exterior and interior impress all visitors to Sydney. The Sydney Opera House constitutes a masterpiece of the 20^th century architecture.