Theater in Sydney. The Sydney Opera House is the symbol of Australia's largest city

Each of the architectural creations has its own character and soul, they all have their own history of creation. Many of them are gray, monotonous and dull, some are funny or original. But there are buildings - giants, they do not necessarily have to be huge in size, the main thing in these structures is the impression they make and the power they have over a person.

The Sydney Opera House is just one of these amazing buildings. This is the calling card of Sydney and the entire cultural Australia. The Sydney Opera House has an unusual and even slightly tragic history...

How did the construction of the opera house begin?

In 1955, the New South Wales state government decided that Sydney needed its own cultural center, because Australians were no worse than the prim, snobby English and progressive Americans! It was decided to erect the building on the cape, which, like a protruding tongue, juts out into Sydney Harbor. It was necessary to build a whole complex of halls and premises under one roof, so that in one place it would be possible to stage global productions, give concerts, stage modern musicals and vaudevilles, and besides, you could have a luxurious lunch and just have fun.

223 architects from all over the world competed for the right to design the Sydney Opera House. And the project of a not particularly famous Dane with the unpronounceable name Jorn Utzon won this competition. The beauty of his idea was that the building actually had no walls; amazing vaults in the form of shells or sails rested directly on the foundation. Thus, the architectural creation, open to view from all sides (after all, it stands on a peninsula), visually acquired the lightness and swiftness of a sailboat!

Fate plays with man, and man... builds an opera house

The trouble was that Utzon's project was actually a sketch, an artistic sketch. Therefore, at first it was not possible to calculate the real costs of money and time. Newspapers trumpeted that construction would be completed in 4 years and would cost $7 million. By the way, a necessary condition for the construction of the Opera was that not a cent from the state treasury would be spent on it. So, a national lottery was announced (before this, Utzon had jokingly sold his kisses for $100 to raise money for the construction). In 1959, construction began, and the author of the project was made his manager.

Time passed. The work was dragging on. The calculations did not come true. The first version of the foundation had to be blown up. The design of the vaults turned out to be unstable and difficult to implement. Utzon suffered. One day, in 1961, when he, almost despairing, was once again putting convex triangular pieces on the table from which he was supposed to make domes, it dawned on him: each shell should be, as it were, part of an imaginary sphere, then the roof would become stable and harmonious! “It’s like an orange peel!” he exclaimed. “If you cut an orange peel into sectors and put these slices in pairs, you will get sail shells!” The project has found new life.

But time was lost, construction was eating up money. Prime Minister Cahill, the Opera aficionado who laid its first stone, has died. The ruling party in the country has changed. The architect began to be persecuted. In 1965, Utzon was forced to resign and leave Australia forever. He was replaced by a large group of local builders who did not grab the stars from heaven. The opera was completed long and painfully. And if the outside of the building still remained as the talented and strong Dane imagined it, then the interior design of the Sydney Opera House turned out to be quite dull and formulaic.

Finally, in 1973, the grand opening of the Opera House took place, which took 14 years to build and cost $102 million. The theater was opened by Queen Elizabeth II of England.

Utzon was very offended, and even after receiving the Pritzker Prize for his wonderful brainchild in 2003, he never came to see it. He died in 2008.

Beauty is eternal!

But the architectural miracle built by Utzon lives on! It is called an excellent example of “frozen music” - in the words of the great Goethe. The white vaults resemble magical shells, flying sails, fantastic hangars for flying ships...

The amazing roof is lined with special tiles, which are slightly rough to the touch, like snake skin (you can touch the tiles).

The joints are so well matched that the surface of the vaults looks absolutely smooth, and fantastic laser shows can be created on it.

The building has two main halls: the Opera House, which seats 1,500 people, and the Concert Hall, which seats 2,500 people.

In addition to them, the Sydney Opera House has two more stages, numerous restaurants and entertainment venues. Free concerts and performances are constantly held in the square in front of the theater. Here you can hear national music performed by the aborigines.

The Sydney Opera House is one of the wonderful features without which it is impossible to imagine the face of the modern world.

The Sydney Opera House is the main attraction of Australia. Opened by Queen Elizabeth II of England in 1973, the Sydney Opera House has become one of Australia's most important attractions, and it would be an unforgivable mistake not to visit. Until 1958, on the site where the opera house now stands, there was a tram depot, and even before the depot there was a fort.

The theater took 14 years to build and cost Australia around $102 million. Initially, it was planned to complete the project in 4 years, but due to difficulties with internal finishing work, the opening date was significantly delayed. For normal operation, the theater needs as much electrical energy as would be enough for a city with a population of 25 thousand people. To build this unique complex, piles were driven into the ocean floor of Sydney Harbor to a depth of 25 meters. The roof covering consists of 1,056,006 pieces of white and matte cream tiles.

The Sydney Opera House has very recognizable shapes, reminiscent of giant sails. But if many people recognize the theater immediately, seeing it from the outside in a photo or on television, then not everyone will be able to answer with confidence what kind of building it is, looking at its decorations from the inside. You can experience all the beauties of the theater with a tour that departs through its depths at 7 a.m., that is, at a time when the Sydney Opera House is still dozing and its walls are not disturbed by sonorous and loud performances.

This excursion is conducted only once a day. A huge variety of different performers from all over the world perform in the theater, among them the tradition arose of kissing the wall before a performance, but only the most worthy and great among them are awarded such an honor. For example, on the kissing wall you can find imprints of Janet Jackson's lips. But still, the excursion can only be an introductory stage into the world of the Sydney Opera House. In order to get maximum impressions and positive emotions, you need to attend at least 1 performance.

Another impressive performance venue in Sydney is Stadium Australia, which seats 83.5 thousand people.

Information for visitors:

Address: Bennelong Point, Sydney NSW 2000.

How to get there: The opera house is located on Sydney Harbor at Bennelong Point. It will be easy for you to get here from anywhere in Sydney; the intersection of sea and land transport routes is nearby.

Working hours:

Every day (except Sunday) from 9:00 to late evening;

Sunday: from 10:00 to late evening (depending on the event).

Prices: depending on the event.

History of construction

223 architects competed for the right to design the Sydney Opera House. In January 1957, the design of the Danish architect Jorn Utzon was announced as the winner of the competition, and two years later the first stone was laid on Bennelong Point in Sydney Harbour. According to preliminary calculations, the construction of the theater should have taken 3-4 years and cost $7 million. Unfortunately, soon after the work began, many difficulties arose, which forced the government to deviate from Utzon’s original plans. And in 1966, Utzon left Sydney after a particularly big quarrel with the city authorities.

A team of young Australian architects took responsibility for completing the construction. The New South Wales government played a lottery to raise money to continue the work. And on October 20, 1973, the new Sydney Opera House was inaugurated. Instead of the planned 4 years, the theater was built in 14, and it cost 102 million dollars.

Video: Laser show at the Sydney Opera House

Architectural features

The Sydney Opera House building is 183 m long and 118 m wide, covering an area of ​​over 21,500 sq. m. m. It stands on 580 concrete piles driven to a depth of 25 m into the clayey bottom of the harbor, and its grandiose dome rises 67 m in height. To cover the entire surface of the dome, more than a million glazed, pearl-like, snow-white tiles were used.

The building houses 5 theaters: the Great Concert Hall with 2,700 seats; its own theater with 1,500 seats and smaller drama theatres, games and theater studios with 350 and 500 seats each. The complex has more than a thousand additional office spaces, including rehearsal rooms, 4 restaurants and 6 bars.

Data

• Location: The Sydney Opera House is located on Bennelong Head on Sydney Harbour, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Its architect is Jorn Utzon.
• Dates: The first stone was laid on March 2, 1959. The first performance took place on September 28, 1973, followed by the official opening of the theater on October 20, 1973. The entire construction took 14 years and cost $102 million.
• Dimensions: The Sydney Opera House building is 183 m long and 118 m wide, covering an area of ​​over 21,500 sq. m. m.
• Theaters and number of seats: the building houses 5 separate theaters with a total number of seats over 5,500.
• Dome: The unique dome of the Sydney Opera House is covered with more than a million ceramic tiles. The complex is supplied with electricity using 645 km of cable.

The Sydney Opera House is Australia's most famous building, built after a lengthy construction process in 1974. There are still debates about its architectural style, but the theater has long become a symbol and calling card of this distant city.

Some believe that the Sydney Opera House 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 washed up on the seashore by a storm.

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

Description

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

It has an unusual roof and stands on stilts in the water it is surrounded by. 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 hall in the theater is the concert hall, which can accommodate more than 2.6 thousand people. There is a giant organ in this hall; organ music concerts are often held.

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 theater, it is designed for 500 spectators, and is intended for theatrical productions.

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 inside each other. The total weight of the roof is more than 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 roof surface is not smooth, serious acoustic problems arose inside it. Therefore, we 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 the mind of the English conductor Eugene Goossens, who arrived in Australia to record concerts on the radio. There was not a single building where the opera could be located.

At the request of Hessens, 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 headland was chosen on the seashore next to the embankment. There was a tram park there at that time, it was moved to another location, and a professional competition was immediately announced for the best project for the future opera house.

In connection with the vigorous development of the construction of this theater, Goossens acquired enemies and envious people. Suddenly, customs found prohibited items in his luggage and he was forced to leave Australia.

(English: Sydney Opera House) is one of the most famous and easily recognizable buildings in the world, a symbol of Australia's largest city, Sydney, and one of the main attractions of Australia - The sail-shaped shells that form the roof make this building unlike any other in the world. The Opera House is recognized as one of the outstanding buildings of modern architecture and, along with the Harbor Bridge, has been the hallmark of Sydney since 1973.

The Sydney Opera House is located on Sydney Harbour, on Bennelong Point. This place received its name after an Australian Aborigine, a friend of the first governor of the colony. It is difficult to imagine Sydney without the Opera House, but until 1958 there was a regular tram depot in its place (before the opera building there was a fort, and then a tram depot).

The architect of the Opera House is the Danish Jorn Utzon. Despite the success of the concept of spherical shells, which solved all construction problems, being well suited for mass production, precision manufacturing and ease of installation, construction was delayed, mainly due to the interior decoration of the premises. Construction of the Opera was planned to take 4 years and cost AUD 7 million. Instead, the opera took 14 years to build and cost $102 million!

The Sydney Opera House is an Expressionist building with radical and innovative design. The building covers an area of ​​2.2 hectares. Its height is 185 meters and its maximum width is 120 meters. The building weighs 161,000 tons and rests on 580 piles, lowered into water to a depth of almost 25 meters from sea level. Its power supply is equivalent to the electricity consumption of one city with a population of 25,000 people. Electricity is distributed over 645 kilometers of cable.

The roof of the opera house consists of 2,194 prefabricated sections, its height is 67 meters, and its weight is more than 27 tons, the entire structure is held in place by steel cables 350 kilometers long. The theater's roof is formed by a series of "shells" made of a non-existent concrete sphere 492 feet in diameter, commonly referred to as "shells" or "sails", although this is not the architectural definition of such a structure. These shells are created from prefabricated, triangle-shaped concrete panels that are supported by 32 precast ribs of the same material. All ribs form part of one large circle, which allowed the outlines of the roofs to have the same shape, and the entire building to have a complete and harmonious appearance.

The entire roof is covered with 1,056,006 azulejo tiles in white and matte cream colors. Although from a distance the structure appears to be made entirely of white tiles, under different lighting conditions the tiles create different color schemes. Thanks to the mechanical method of laying the tiles, the entire surface of the roof turned out to be perfectly smooth, which was impossible with manual covering. All tiles were manufactured by the Swedish factory Höganäs AB with self-cleaning technology, but despite this, some tiles are regularly cleaned and replaced.

The two largest shell vaults form the ceiling of the Concert Hall and the Opera Theater. In other rooms, the ceilings form groups of smaller vaults.

The stepped roof structure was very beautiful, but created height problems inside the building, as the resulting height did not provide adequate acoustics in the halls. To solve this problem, separate ceilings were made to reflect sound. In the smallest shell off to the side of the main entrance and grand staircase is the Bennelong Restaurant.

The interior of the building is decorated with pink granite brought from the Tarana region (New South Wales), wood and plywood.

For this project, Utzon received the Pritzker Prize, architecture's highest honor, in 2003. The award was accompanied by the words: “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 extraordinary beauty that has become famous throughout the world - a symbol not only of the city, but of the entire country and continent "

The Sydney Opera House is home to four of Australia's key arts companies - Australian Opera, Australian Ballet, Sydney Theater Company and Sydney Symphony Orchestra - and many other companies and theaters are based at the Sydney Opera House. The theater is one of the city's busiest performing arts centers, hosting approximately 1,500 performances annually with a total attendance of more than 1.2 million people. It is also one of Australia's most popular attractions, with more than seven million tourists visiting it every year.

The Opera House building has three main performance halls:

The 2,679-seat Concert Hall is the home of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. It contains the world's largest functioning mechanical organ, with over 10,000 pipes.

The Opera House, 1507 seats, is home to the Sydney Opera House and the Australian Ballet.

The Drama Theatre, 544 seats, is used by the Sydney Theater Company and other dance and theater companies.

In addition to these three halls, the Sydney Opera House contains several smaller halls and studios.

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The Teatro dell'Opera di Roma (Teatro dell'Opera di Roma) is an opera and ballet theater in Rome, Italy. Sometimes called the Teatro Costanzi, in honor of the creator Domenico Costanzi (1810-1898). The Rome Opera House was built by a private contractor and financier Domenico Costanzi (1810-1898), the architect of the project was the Milanese Achille Sfondrini (1836-1900). The theater was built in eighteen months and opened on November 27, 1880 with the production of the opera "Semiramide" by Gioachino Rossini. One of the features of the theater was its close proximity to the hotel. , also owned by Costanzi, there was an underground passage between the hotel and the theater and guests, including actors, if they did not want to be seen on the street, could enter the theater incognito along this passage. Initially, the Costanzi Theater with a capacity of more than 2,200 spectators had an amphitheater. three tiers of boxes, two separate galleries. The dome was decorated with frescoes by Anibale Brugnoli. The Costanzi family independently managed the theater, first Domenico himself, then his son Enrico, and despite the fact that there were many financial difficulties, the theater was one of the leading in Italy and held many world events. premieres, including "Honor Rusticana" by Pietro Mascagni and "Tosca" by Giacomo Puccini. Currently, the hall's capacity is about 1,600 seats.

Opera de Lille (Opéra de Lille, France), was built between 1907 and 1913. and officially opened in 1923. In 1903, the old building of the Lille Opera House burned down in a fire. The competition for the best design of the new theater was won by the architect Louis-Marie Cordonnier, inspired by the architecture of the Opera Garnier in Paris and Italian theaters.

La Scala (Italian: Teatro alla Scala or La Scala) is a world famous opera house in Milan (Italy). All the leading opera stars over the past two centuries have considered it an honor to perform at La Scala. The La Scala theater is home to the opera troupe, choir, ballet and symphony orchestra of the same name. He is also associated with the La Scala Theater Academy, which offers professional training in music, dance and stage management. In the foyer of the theater there is a museum in which paintings, sculptures, costumes and other documents relating to the history of opera and theater are exhibited. Traditionally, the new season at La Scala begins in winter - December 7 (which is unusual compared to other theaters in the world) on the Day of St. Ambrose, the patron saint of Milan, and ends in November. And each performance must end before midnight; if the opera is very long, then it starts early.

The Novosibirsk Opera and Ballet Theater (Novosibirsk State Academic Theater of Opera and Ballet, NGATOiB) is the largest theater in Siberia and has the status of a Federal State Cultural Institution. Number of seats (large hall) - 1762 seats.

Civic Opera House/Lyric Opera is an opera house in Chicago, Illinois, USA. The theater's auditorium has 3,563 seats, making it the second largest theater in the world, after the Metropolitan Opera. The theater is part of a 45-story office building with two 22-story wings. The building is now owned by the Lyric Opera of Chicago. However, the Great Depression, which began six days earlier, had a negative impact on the theater, the theater was empty and was on the verge of survival, the first opera group broke up. Insull himself lost most of his business, was prosecuted, went into hiding in Europe, then was acquitted and died in Paris in relative poverty. During the 1930s and 40s, several opera companies were based at the theater, none of which lasted long. In 1954, the theater was leased by the Lyric Opera of Chicago, which purchased the building outright in 1993. The Lyric Opera began large-scale renovation work. Everything that needed updating was updated; the global reconstruction was completed in 1996.

The Lyon Opera or Opera Nouvel (Opera de Lyon, opera Nouvel) is a modern opera and ballet theater in Lyon, France. Named after the famous French architect Jean Nouvel who designed the building. It is managed by the state company National Opera of Lyon.

Donetsk National Academic Opera and Ballet Theater named after. A.B. Solovyanenko is an opera house in Donetsk, Ukraine. It was created in 1932 in the city of Lugansk on the basis of the Mobile Opera Theater of Right Bank Ukraine. The documents of the People's Commissariat of Education of Ukraine propose, from March 15, 1932, to transfer the Mobile Opera to the Donetsk Theater Trust for permanent service to the population of Donbass. On September 1, 1932, A. Borodin’s opera “Prince Igor” opened the first theater season. The artistic director and director of the theater was Honored Artist of the Republic Nikolai Nikolaevich Bogolyubov, the musical director and chief conductor of the theater was Honored Artist of the Republic Alexander Gavrilovich Erofeev. The following people worked in the theater: conductor Max Cooper, director Alexander Zdikhovsky, choreographer Mark Tseitlin, artists - Oles Vlasyuk, Eduard Lyakhovich. In the theater’s repertoire in 1935: “The Queen of Spades”, “Eugene Onegin” by P. Tchaikovsky, “Carmen” by J. Bizet, “Faust” by P. Tchaikovsky. . Gounod, “Rigoletto”, “La Traviata”, “Aida” by G. Verdi, “Madame Butterfly” by G. Puccini, “Pagliacci” by R. Leoncavallo, “The Barber of Seville” by G. Rossini, “Cossack beyond the Danube” by S. Gulak- Artemovsky, "The Tales of Hoffmann" by J. Offenbach; ballets: "Raymonda", "The Red Poppy" by R. Gliere, "Ferenji" by B. Yanovsky. The theater consisted of 40 choir artists, 45 ballet artists, 45 orchestra artists, and 3 soloists. In total, 225 people worked in the theater. The orchestra included the best musicians of the Lugansk and Vinnytsia Opera and Ballet Theaters and the Stalin Regional Philharmonic. From the first days of organizing the group, work was carried out with the audience: traveling performances, conversations, concerts. New productions of opera and ballet performances were carried out. For the first time in Ukraine, it was on the stage of the Donetsk Opera and Ballet Theater that the operas were staged: “Betrothal in a Monastery”, “Semyon Kotko” by S. Prokofiev, “Don Juan” by W.A. Mozart, “Andre Chénier” by W. Giordano, “Yaroslav the Wise” ” Y. Meitus and others. The Donetsk Opera and Ballet Theater was one of the first in Ukraine to turn to the works of modern Ukrainian composers, staging the performances “Sorochinskaya Fair”, “Oksana” based on the poem by T. Shevchenko, “Slipa”, “Naymichka” V . Artemovsky, “Natalka Poltavka” by N. Lysenko. Performances by composers of national republics were staged on the stage of the Donetsk Theater: “Shuralle” by F. Yarullin, “Keto and Kote” by V. Dumbadze, “Spartak” by A. Khachaturian, “One Thousand and One Nights” F. Amirova and others. The glory and pride of the theater in different years were the famous artists: Y. Sabinin, E. Gorchakova, T. Podolskaya, A. Kolobov, A. Galenkin, Y. Gulyaev, A. Korobeychenko, N. Momot, V. Zemlyansky, G. Kalikin, R. Kolesnik, M. Vedeneva, A. Boytsov, director - A. Zdikhovsky, artists - V. Moskovchenko, B. Kupenko, V. Spevyakin; conductor - T. Mikitka, and on the stage of the Donetsk Theater in different years such luminaries and stage masters as People's Artists of the Soviet Union Ivan Kozlovsky, Sergei Lemeshev, Maria Bieshu, Olga Lepeshinskaya, Marina Semenova, K. Shulzhenko, A. Solovyanenko danced and sang and many more other. On November 2, 1977, the theater was awarded the title "academic". In 1992, Vadim Pisarev’s school of choreographic skills was created at the theater. By a resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine dated December 9, 1999, the theater was named after A. B. Solovyanenko. Created through the efforts of the theater management, "Grand Pas" already has its own history and its fans. Students from various choreographic schools from Ukraine, near and far abroad countries take part in the festival. The auditorium, foyer, ceilings and walls of the theater are lavishly decorated with stucco and corresponding light gilding. In separate niches in the foyer there are sculptural busts of composers, writers and decorative vases. The auditorium is designed as a ground floor for 650 seats and a mezzanine for 320 seats, with small balconies. Busts of prominent composers and poets are installed in niches above the mezzanine and balconies of the auditorium. The shape of the rows of seats in the stalls and on the mezzanine is such that it ensures good visibility. In the center of the hall ceiling is a large crystal chandelier. The theater has a mechanized stage, the area of ​​the main stage is 560 square meters. m. In 1989-1994. Reconstruction and selective overhaul work was carried out in the theater.