What is the name of the Sydney Opera House? Sydney Opera House. Australia. Architectural style of the theater

- was created in 1973, the British director Eugene Goossens shared the idea. He arrived in Australia as a conductor, but was shocked to learn that there was no opera house in Australia. This was the beginning of the building, or rather the beginning of the dream of building an opera house. He searched areas where it was possible to build an opera house, and also convinced the deputies of this country about the importance of this building, after which it was decided to start a competition for the best project of an opera house. Unfortunately, however, Eugene Goosens' enemies set him up and he had to leave Australia without seeing the fruits of his dreams.

The competition continued and the winner of the best project was the Danish architect Jorn Utzon. Jorn Utzon became an innovator in the history of construction, since before that time there were no such buildings on earth. On the one hand, it was promising, but on the other hand, it was a risky project, which was to be built over the sea, in the Bennelong Point area there had previously been a tram depot. This project amazed the whole world and never ceases to amaze.

Construction began in 1959, the construction was planned to take 4 years, but everything did not go as smoothly as we would like and lasted for 14 years. The problem was mainly due to the roof (superstructure). Many call them sails, some fins or shells. The roof of the opera house consists of 2194 previously manufactured sections. The entire roof is covered with about one million matte or cream colors. In principle, the roof came out very smoothly, but the internal acoustics of the hall suffered; later this problem was solved at considerable expense, since it was necessary to demolish the current foundation and pour a new, strong foundation. Some details also needed to be redone.

Unfortunately, expenses increased, and construction time slowed down, so that even the money that was intended for construction was spent on other objects. Because of this, Utzon had to leave Sydney, as the estimated amount was seven million Australian dollars, but in fact it took about one hundred million dollars. A few years later, the Australians again asked Utzon to begin construction, but he categorically refused this idea. After which the new architect Hall completed the operatic miracle. The exact date of the opening of the Sydney Opera House in 1973 with thunderous applause from numerous people and fireworks. Still, in 2003, Jorn Utzon, the chief architect of the opera house, received an award. The dramatic and difficult construction lived up to all these years of anticipation, it became a symbol of the Australian city. On June 28, 2007, the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites was expanded, and the beautiful Sydney Theater was added to this list.

The Sydney Opera House became a center of tourist accumulation, hotels, cafes, restaurants and the like began to be built. And if you look at the Opera House at night from the Harbor Bridge, it was an indescribable delight for tourists.

When entering the Sydney Opera House, which consists of quite a few halls, tourists first enter the concert hall.

Concert hall with the largest audience in this theater. This hall houses the largest organ, which has 10 thousand organ pipes. One of the highest quality musical instruments on earth.

The hall seats 2,679 spectators. The opera hall accommodates 1,507 spectators, as well as 70 musicians on stage. The Drama Hall seats only 544 spectators.

Also the Play House hall, which seats 398 spectators. And the very last hall, which was inaugurated relatively recently in 1999, was called “Studio”. However, despite the fact that it opened last, it accommodates only 364 spectators.

In the opera house, namely in each hall, different artistic scenes were held, as well as opera, ballet, drama, dance scenes, miniature theater plays, as well as plays in the spirit of avant-garde.

Sydney Opera House has many advantages, namely:

• unusualness of the project;
• location;
• an ideal place for art lovers;

Many tourists come here to see the interesting architecture, as well as to watch various art scenes.

One of the most interesting buildings of the 20th century is located in Australia. Built between 1957 and 1973, the Sydney Opera House is surrounded by water and strongly resembles a sailboat. The architect of the legendary structure was Jorn Utson from Denmark.

History of construction

Until the mid-20th century, there was not a single building in Sydney suitable for opera productions. With the arrival of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra's new chief conductor, Eugene Goosens, the problem was made public.

But the creation of a new building for opera and orchestral purposes did not become a matter of first importance. At this time, the whole world was in a state of recovery after the war, the Sydney administration was in no hurry to begin work, and the project was frozen.

Funding for the construction of the Sydney Opera House began in 1954. They continued until 1975, and in total about $100 million was collected.

Cape Bennelong was chosen as the site for one of the largest cultural buildings. According to the requirements, the building had to have two halls. The first of them, intended for opera and ballet performances, as well as symphonic music, was supposed to accommodate approximately three thousand people. In the second, with dramatic performances and chamber music, there are 1,200 people.

Jorn Utson, according to the commission, became the best architect out of 233 who sent their works. He was inspired to create the project by the sailing ships standing in Sydney Harbor. It took the builders 14 years to complete the project.

Construction began in 1959. Immediately problems began to arise. The government demanded that the number of halls be increased from two to four. In addition, the designed wing-sails turned out to be impossible to implement, so it took several more years of experimentation to find the right solution. Due to the outbreak of proceedings in 1966, Utson was replaced by a group of architects from Australia, led by Peter Hull.

On September 28, 1973, the Sydney Opera House opened its gates. The premiere was the production of the opera “War and Peace” by S. Prokofiev. The official opening ceremony was held on October 20 in the presence of Elizabeth II.

Some numbers

The constructed opera immediately immortalized itself in history. This is truly a huge complex containing 5 halls and about 1000 rooms for various purposes. The maximum height of the Opera House building is 67 meters. The total weight of the building is estimated to be 161,000 tons.

Opera House halls

1 hall

The largest hall of the Sydney Opera House is the Concert Hall. It accommodates 2679 visitors. The Great Concert Organ is also located here.

Hall 2

The Opera Hall, which seats 1,547 spectators, is used for opera and ballet performances. The hall houses the world's largest theatrical curtain-tapestry, the Curtain of the Sun.

Hall 3

The drama hall seats 544 spectators. Drama and dance performances take place here. There is also another tapestry curtain, also woven in Aubusson. Due to its dark tones, it was called “Curtain of the Moon”.

Hall 4

The Playhouse hall seats 398 spectators. It is intended for theatrical miniatures, lectures, and also for use as a cinema.

Hall 5

The newest hall, “Studio,” opened in 1999. 364 spectators can see plays in the spirit of avant-garde art here.

Since 1973, the Sydney Opera House has been in use almost 24 hours a day without interruption. In addition to culture and art lovers, the building is loved by thousands of tourists visiting Sydney. The Sydney Opera House has become a real symbol of Australia.

Video about the Sydney Opera House

The Sydney Opera House has long been the hallmark of the city and a symbol of Australia. Even people far from art and architecture know the answer to the question of where the most beautiful building of our time is located. But few of them have any idea what difficulties the organizers of the project faced and how high the probability of its freezing was. Behind the outwardly light and airy “House of Muses,” which takes viewers into the land of music and fantasy, there are hidden titanic investments. The history of the creation of the Sydney Opera House is as original as its design.

The main stages of construction of the Sydney Opera House

The initiator of the construction was the British conductor J. Goossens, who drew the attention of the authorities to the absence in the city and throughout the country of a building with good capacity and acoustics, given the obvious interest of the population in opera and ballet. He also began raising funds (1954) and chose a site for construction - Cape Bennelong, surrounded on three sides by water, located just 1 km from the central park. Permission for construction was received in 1955, subject to a complete refusal of budget funding. This was the first reason for the delay in construction: donations and income from a specially announced lottery had been collected for about two decades.

The international competition for the best design of the Sydney Opera House was won by the Danish architect J. Utzon, who proposed decorating the harbor with a building resembling a ship flying on the waves. The sketch shown to the commission was more like a sketch; the author, little known at that time, did not have much hope of winning. But luck was on his side: it was his work that pleased the chairman, Eero Saarinen, an architect with an unshakable authority in the field of construction of public projects. The decision was not unanimous, but in the end Utzon’s sketch was recognized as the most ergonomic; in comparison, other projects looked cumbersome and banal. It looked impressive from all angles and took into account the conditions of being surrounded by water.

The construction, which started in 1959, lasted 14 years instead of the planned 4 and required 102 million Australian dollars with a base of 7. The reasons were explained both by a lack of funds and by the authorities’ requirement to include 2 more halls in the project. The shell spheres proposed in the original plan could not accommodate them all and had acoustic disadvantages. It took the architect years to find an alternative solution and fix the problems.

The changes made had a negative impact on the estimate: due to the increased weight of the building, the foundation built in Sydney Harbor had to be blown up and replaced with a new one, including 580 piles. This, coupled with new demands for the addition of commercial sites (investors wanted to get their share) and a freeze in funding from the state lottery in 1966, caused Utzon to abandon the most significant work of his career and from visiting Australia in the future.

Opponents of the project accused the builders of waste and in fact they were right. But they had no chance of investing in the initial 7 million: at that time, there was no floating lifting equipment in Australia (each crane for installing beams cost 100,000 on its own), many solutions were radically new and required additional funds. Over 2,000 fastened roof sections were manufactured according to individual sketches; the technology turned out to be costly and complex.

Materials for glazing and roofing were also ordered externally. 6000 m 2 of glass and more than 1 million units of white and cream-colored tiles (azulejo) were produced in European countries on special order. To obtain an ideal roofing surface, the tiles were fastened using a mechanized method; the total coverage area was 1.62 hectares. The icing on the cake was the custom suspended ceilings that were not included in the original design. The builders simply did not have the opportunity to complete the project before 1973.

Description of the structure, facade and interior decoration

After the grand opening, the Sydney Opera House was quickly ranked among the masterpieces of expressionism and the main attractions of the mainland. Pictures of him appeared in movie posters, magazines and souvenir postcards. The massive (161 thousand tons) building looked like a light sailboat or snow-white shells that changed their hue when the lighting changed. The author's idea to catch the glare of the sun and the movement of clouds during the day and bright lighting at night has fully justified itself: the facade still does not need additional decorations.

Local materials were used to decorate the interior: wood, plywood and pink granite. In addition to 5 main halls with a capacity of up to 5,738 people, a reception hall, several restaurants, shops, cafes, many studios and utility rooms were located inside the complex. The intricacy of the layout has become legendary: everyone in Sydney knows the story of a courier who got lost and came onto the stage with a package during the play.

Interesting facts and features of the visit

The author of the idea and developer of the main project, Jorn Utzon, received a number of prestigious awards for it, including the Pritzker Prize in 2003. He also went down in history as the second architect whose creation was recognized as a World Heritage Site during his lifetime. The paradox of the situation consisted not only in Jorn’s refusal to work on the project 7 years before completion and from visiting the Sydney Opera House in principle. The local authorities for some reason did not mention his name at the time of the opening and did not list him on the table of authors at the entrance (which was in stark contrast to the gold medal given to him by the Sydney Council of Architects and other forms of gratitude from the cultural community).

Due to the numerous changes made and the lack of an original building plan, it is indeed difficult to assess Utzon's real contribution. But it was he who developed the concept, eliminated the bulkiness of the structure, solved the issues of location, safe fastening of roofs and the main problems with acoustics. Australian architects and designers were entirely responsible for bringing the project to completion and interior decoration. According to many experts, they failed to cope with the task. Some landscaping and acoustic improvement work is still ongoing.

Other interesting facts related to the discovery and development of the complex include:

• constant demand and fullness. The Sydney Opera House welcomes between 1.25 and 2 million spectators per year. The number of tourists who come for outdoor photography is impossible to count. Internal excursions are conducted mainly during the day; those wishing to attend evening performances must book tickets in advance;
• multifunctionality. The venues of the opera house, in addition to their main purpose, are used to organize festivals, concerts and performances of significant personalities: from Nelson Mandela to the Pope;
• completely open access for tourists and no dress code. The Sydney Opera House welcomes guests seven days a week, with the exception of Christmas Day and Good Friday;
• global recognition of uniqueness. The complex is deservedly included in the 20 man-made masterpieces of the 20th century; this building is recognized as the most successful and outstanding structure of modern architecture;
• presence of the world's largest organ with 10,000 pipes in the main concert hall.

Repertoire and additional programs

Fans of Russian music have a legitimate reason for pride: the first work staged on the stage of the House of Muses was S. Prokofiev’s opera War and Peace. But the theater's repertoire is not limited to opera and symphonic music. All its halls host a variety of scenes and performances: from theatrical miniatures to film festivals.

The cultural associations attached to the complex - the Australian Opera and the Sydney Theater - are world famous. Since 1974, with their help, the best productions and performers, including new national operas and plays, have been presented to audiences.

The estimated number of events held reaches 3000 per year. To get acquainted with the repertoire and order tickets, you should use the resources of the official website. The Sydney Opera House program is constantly evolving. The strategy of digitally recording their performances in high quality with subsequent demonstration on TV and in cinemas, contrary to fears, attracted even more viewers. The best innovation was awarded to the construction of the Forecourt outdoor venue at the beginning of the new millennium for productions, shows and concerts on the shores of Sydney Harbour.

The Sydney Opera House is one of the most famous buildings of the 20th century and is by far Australia's most popular architectural structure in the style. It is located on Sydney Harbour, close to the huge Harbor Bridge. The unusual silhouette of the Sydney Opera House resembles a row of sails soaring above the surface of the sea. Nowadays, 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 distinctive feature is its recognizable shape, which includes a number of identical “shells” or “shells”.

The history of the theater's creation is full of drama. It all started in 1955, when the state government of which Sydney is the capital 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 around the world: the organizers received 233 applications from 28 countries. As a result, the government chose one of the most striking and unusual 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 a building that seemed to “come from the world of fantasy,” as the architect himself said.

In 1957, Utzon arrived in Sydney, and two years later construction of the theater began. There were many unforeseen difficulties associated with the start of work. It turned out that Utzon's 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 design there were no walls as such, the roof vaults rested directly on the plane of the foundation.

Initially, Utzon believed that his idea could be realized quite simply: make sinks from reinforcing mesh, and then cover them with tiles on top. But calculations showed that this method would not be suitable for a giant roof. Engineers tried different shapes - parabolic, ellipsoidal, but without success. Time passed, money melted, customer dissatisfaction grew. Utzon, in desperation, drew dozens of different options over and over again. Finally, one fine day, it dawned on him: his gaze accidentally stopped at orange peels in the form of the usual triangular segments. This was the very form 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 required 4 years. But it took 14 long years to build. The construction budget was exceeded by more than 14 times. Customers' dissatisfaction grew so much that at a certain point they removed Utzon from work. The brilliant architect left for Denmark, never to return to Sydney. 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 was recognized not only in Australia, but throughout the world. The interior design of the Sydney Theater was done by other architects, so there is a difference between the exterior of the building and its interior.

As a result, the roof segments, seemingly 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 coated with a matte glaze, allowing the roof of the Sydney Theater to be used today as a reflective screen for video art and the projection of vibrant images. The roof panels 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.

Construction of 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. It hosts more than 3 thousand events annually, and has an annual audience of 2 million viewers. The theater’s program includes an opera called “The Eighth Miracle,” which tells the story of the complex history of the building’s construction.

– Sydney Opera House, and even if you haven’t heard of it, you will certainly easily recognize the photo of this unusual sail-shaped structure.

Our story will introduce you closer to this unique building, you will find out why it has gained such popularity among tourists, and you will be able to decide whether it deserves your attention or not.

The history of the Sydney Opera House

The history of the construction of the world famous landmark began in the distant past. 1954 year when the British conductor Sir J. Goossens Having come to work for work, I discovered that there was not only an opera house, but also any other sufficiently spacious room where people could listen to music.
He got excited about the idea of ​​construction and soon found a suitable place - Bennelong Point, where at that time there was a tram depot.
J. Goossens did a lot of work, and so, on May 17, 1955, the Australian government announced a competition to develop a project for a new opera house. Architects from all over the world sent in their projects, but in the end the Dane won J. Watson.
Large-scale construction began, which dragged on for 14 years and instead of the initially calculated 7 million Australian dollars, it required 102 million.
In 1973, the official opening of the Sydney Opera House took place, soon after which the building became the main architectural symbol not only of Australia, but also of Australia as a whole.

Key attractions – what to see at the Sydney Opera House?

Without a doubt, the Sydney Opera House attracts the most attention from people around the world. he is attracted by the easily recognizable roof, which to some resembles sails, to others shells, and others say that it is a symbol of frozen music.

Did you know? Many people think that the roof has a white surface, but in fact, some of its tiles are white, others are cream, due to which, depending on the sunlight, it can “change” color.

But besides the roof, there are many other aspects that make the building truly outstanding. It is surrounded by water on three sides and stands on huge concrete stilts. The area of ​​the theater reaches incredible numbers - 22 thousand square meters. m.!

The theater houses 4 large halls:

• Concert hall, which can simultaneously accommodate 2679 visitors;
• Opera theatre, designed for 1507 spectators, they perform not only opera, but also ballet;
• Drama Theater, capable of accommodating 544 people;
• Maly Drama Theater– the most comfortable hall for 398 spectators.

In addition to the main halls, the theater has many other rooms - rehearsal rooms, costume rooms, corridors, bars and restaurants.

Entertainment

Without a doubt, the main attraction of the Sydney Opera House is watching his outstanding plays, performances, operas and ballets. World-famous theater and ballet troupes, as well as orchestras, singers and other artists come here with their performances.

Did you know? The theater can host 4 different performances at the same time!

You can find a poster of upcoming events at Sydney Opera House official website.
If you are not an ardent art lover or have little time, but want to get acquainted with the world-famous structure, this is easily possible.

By visiting one of them, you can not only learn more interesting facts about the famous building, but also visit “behind the scenes” of theatrical life, meet the actors of the troupes and even try theater food. By the way, about food.
There are several good bars and restaurants in the Sydney Opera House grounds. The most popular of them:

• Opera Bar– a bar and restaurant, which is also one of the “favorites” among Sydney residents;
• Bennelong– one of the best restaurants in Australia, whose chef is P. Gilmore, who prepares original dishes from Australian ingredients;
• Portside Sydney– the most suitable friendly family restaurant for a light snack, a cup of coffee or dessert.

Also in the theater building you will find many souvenir shops, offering tourists a very wide selection of pleasant and memorable things.

Where is the Sydney Opera House located?

The famous structure is located in the picturesque Sydney Harbor on Bennelong Point.
You can easily get here from anywhere in the Australian capital, since the intersection of sea and land transport routes is nearby.
GPS coordinates: 33.856873° S, 151.21497° E.

Sydney Opera House opening hours

• The theater is open to visitors daily from 9 am (Sunday from 10:00) until late in the evening.

• Prices for visiting the theater depend on the purpose of such a visit - either it will be an excursion, or you want to see this or that performance, or you just want to relax and have a delicious meal in one of the theater restaurants - in each case the price can vary significantly.
• For any questions you may have, you can contact the theater’s “Info Service” from Monday to Friday by phone. +61 2 9250 7111, or write to email. address [email protected].
  The official website of the Sydney Opera House is www.sydneyoperahouse.com.

Sydney Opera House – interesting facts

• Author of the Sydney theater project J. Goossens, despite the amount of work he had done, was “exiled” from Australia, because they allegedly found prohibited “Black Mass” items in his possession.
• The initial A$7 million to build the theater was raised thanks to charity lottery.
• The famous sail-shaped roof significantly worsened the acoustics of the theater premises, and therefore it was necessary to make additional sound reflective ceilings. The roof, by the way, also turned out to be too heavy, and the builders were forced to redo the entire foundation of the theater.
• Due to protracted construction, the architect of the Sydney Opera House, J. Watson, encountered difficulties with the Australian government, and he was forced to leave Australia. The theater was completed by another architect.
• She came to the opening of the Sydney Opera House herself. Queen Elizabeth II of Britain.
• The Sydney Theater has the longest theatrical curtains in the world, and its large concert hall is the largest organ on the planet.
• The Sydney Opera House is the first building in the world to be listed as UNESCO World Heritage Site during the lifetime of its architect.
• The opera house building is still not completed. To prepare for the 2000 Olympics, the Australian government invited J. Watson to complete the building, but he refused. The famous architect never returned to Australia after the forced cessation of construction.
• J. Watson in 2003 received the prestigious Pulitzer Prize for the project of the world famous theater.
• Sydney Opera House was a contender for the title of one of the 7 wonders of the world.
• Never yet no repairs were required to the famous building.

Sydney Opera House - video

In this video you will learn even more information about the Sydney Opera House. Enjoy watching!

The world-famous theater hides these and many other secrets behind its walls - hurry to see it, touch its secrets and touch the great musical and theatrical art that unfolds behind its scenes every day.