Friday, March 21, 2008

What’s Sydney Without Its Opera House?



During my first two weeks in Sydney, I must have been within a digital zoom of the Opera House at least eight times. My friends and I thought about dedicating an entire Facebook album to the structure. Seeing the Opera House was an affirmation that we really actually were in Sydney...and I think we needed that daily reminder.

But since going to a play there a few weeks ago, I don’t think I’ve been in Sydney Harbour. Now that classes have begun and I have more routine in my life, I feel more like I live here. Still that’s no excuse to deprive you of touristy photos of the great Sydney Opera House. I realized I hadn’t posted any besides a small one here.


This was my first view of the Opera House. When we stumbled upon it our second day in the city, I actually made the operatic “Waaaaa” noise like the shape-shifting group of fish in Finding Nemo. What you can notice here that I didn’t realize before is that the roof is made up of different tiles that are actually a cream color. It usually looks solid white.


Danish architect Jorn Utzon designed the structure in the late 1950s and it opened in 1973. The “shells” house different stages, which I also didn’t realize until coming here. I thought it was The Opera House, ie. one big opera stage. Really it’s more of an Opera Condo with an opera theatre, concert hall, drama theatre, playhouse and studio theatre.


We went to see As You Like It in the playhouse at the beginning of the month. With 398 seats, it’s a lot smaller than the 2,679-seat concert hall, which has a huge organ with 10,000 pipes or something ridiculous. Still, I got to see Shakespeare in Australia’s most famous landmark, and I think that’s pretty nifty.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi, I just came across your blog and wanted to let you know it's great and I love your photos! I'm an Aussie living in London, so I know where you're at with the exploring and getting 'lost' thing.
If you like wine and you'd like a nice day/weekend out, head up to the Hunter Valley, I can highly recommend it. Research it on the internet, you should be able to find relatively cheap accommodation, and there are plenty of vineyards to explore. My fave wine is McGuigans, not sure if they still have a Cellar Door but I imagine they would.
There is also a gig called 'Jazz in the Vines' which is awesome, if you're still around Aus when it's on, I think it's on in Spring.
Enjoy your time in Aus, most of us are a pretty friendly bunch!
Rgds
Charlee :-)

Brittany said...

Thanks for the recommendations Charlee! I have some friends going up to Hunter Valley so I was thinking about it. Best of luck in London.