Sydney Opera House | Fact & Informations

Sydney Opera House

The Sydney Opera House is one of the architectural wonders of the world. The opera house is located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is situated on Bennelong Point, which reaches out into Sydney Harbour‘s Port Jackson. The opera house was designed by Danish architect Jorn Utzon.

The opera house is a complex of halls and theatres, which are linked together. The house presents theatre, musicals, opera, contemporary dance, ballet, and every form of music from symphony concerts to jazz as well as exhibitions and films. it is also used for other functions such as parties,conferences and weddings. The house operates 24 hours a day, every day of the year except Christmas Day and Good Friday.

Conception

The idea of constructing the Sydney Opera House arose after World War II. In 1954, , the government of South Wales decided to build a new opera house. The Bennelong Point was finalised as a site for the opera house. Architects from all over the world were invited to submit their designs for a complex including two main halls, a restaurant and public meeting rooms. The competition was announced and in December 1956, a total of 234 architects from nine different countries submitted their designs. The results were announced in January 1957 and Danish architect John Utzon won the competition.

Construction

The formal conduction of the opera house began in March 1959. The project was divided into three stages. The first stage consisted of building the upper podium that was constructed between 1959-63. The second stage involved building the outer shells, and the third stage involved the interior design and construction. The third stage took four years to complete and was completed between 1967-73.

Funds

The funds for the construction of the Sydney Opera House were largely provided by a lottery system. Before the construction started, many public fund-raising campaigns were organized to collect money. The campaigns failed to produce sufficient funding and an opera lottery house was created in 1958. The lottery continued till the completion of the opera house.

Inauguration

The Sydney Opera House took 17 years to complete. It was inaugurated by Queen Elizabeth II, on 20 October 1973. The opening ceremony of the opera house
was attended by millions of people. The programme was televised and included a performance of Beethoven’s Symphony Number 9 along with a fireworks show.

Problems

Jorn Utzon faced many technical problems during the construction of the opera house. His design required advanced technology, which was not available at that point of time. So, the construction was delayed by several years. During this period, Utzon was pressurised by the government and the press to continue the project and ignore his problems John Utzon, however, released to do so, and he resigned and returned to Denmark in 1965. After his resignation, the construction of the opera house was handed over to a group of Australian architects of opera housewas finally completed in 1973. The total cost incurred amounted to almost 15 times the estimated budget.