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Sydney Opera House

by Sydney Opera House @ Sunset
in Sydney Through A Lense - Photography, Sydney's Attractions
3 Jun 2010 | 0 Comments
 

Sydney Opera House is possibly one of the most famous landmarks in the world. It was conceived and largely built by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, who, in 2003, received the Pritzker Prize, architecture's highest honour.

Sydney Opera House was made a World Heritage Site on 28 June 2007. It is one of the 20th century's most distinctive buildings and one of the most famous performing arts centres in the world.

Sydney Opera House is situated on Bennelong Point in Sydney Harbour, close to the Sydney Harbour Bridge. It sits at the northeastern tip of the Sydney central business district (the CBD), surrounded on three sides by the harbour (Sydney Cove and Farm Cove) and neighboured by the Royal Botanic Gardens.

Contrary to its name, the building houses six venues. The two largest venues, the Opera Theatre and Concert Hall, are housed in the two larger sets of shells. Three smaller theatres, the Drama Theatre, Playhouse and Studio are situated on the western side of the building, and the Utzon Room on the eastern side. The award winning Guillaume at Bennelong restaurant occupies the smaller set of shells. A seventh performance space, The Forecourt, is regularly used for free community events and large scale outdoor performances.

As one of the busiest performing arts centres in the world, providing over 1,500 performances each year attended by some 1.2 million people, Sydney Opera House promotes and supports many performing arts companies including the four key resident companies Opera Australia, The Australian Ballet, Sydney Theatre Company and Sydney Symphony. Sydney Opera House also presents more than 700 of its own performances annually that offer an eclectic mix of artistic and cultural activities for all ages from the educational to the experimental. It is also one of the most popular visitor attractions in Australia, with more than 7 million people visiting the site each year.

Visitors are allowed to go into the foyer of the Sydney Opera House and sometimes around the front. Tours of the Sydney Opera house are also available in a variety of languages.

The Opera Bar (located under the concourse) is a great place for a drink in the evening as you watch the sunset over the Harbour bridge.

Contining around Bennelong Point you will pass the ‘Toaster', a local name for the series of buildings put up on the east side of Cirqular Quay. Just after the Ferry terminal you will come the the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) and the overseas ferry passenger terminal; which also affords great views of the house.

For the especially keen, or those too broke to do the Bridge Climb, a fun and inexpensive activity for adamant walkers is to take the footpath across the Sydney Harbour Bridge to Kirribilli, where you can get an often missed perspective of the Sydney skyline. Trains run regularly back to the city from Milson's Point where you can change for King's Cross.

All this being said, there is no other way to truly experience the Sydney Opera House other than to see a live performance.