Sydney Opera House: interesting facts

Sydney Opera House (in English - Sydney Opera House) is a symbol of the largest city in Australia and a landmark of the entire Australian continent. What is there to say, even within the whole world is one of the most famous and easily recognizable buildings. Forming the roof of the theater canvas shells make it unique and unlike any other structure on Earth. Since the building is surrounded on three sides by water, it looks like a frigate sailing.

The building of the Opera along with the famous bridge of the Harbor Bridge is Sydney's business card, and, of course, he is proud of all of Australia. Sydney Opera House since 2007 is considered a World Heritage Site and is under the protection of UNESCO. It is officially recognized as an outstanding construction of world modern architecture.

History of creation

Sydney Opera House (see photo in the article) was opened in October 1973 by the English Queen Elizabeth II. The building was designed by the Danish architect Jorn Utzon, in 2003 he received the Pritzker Prize for it . The project, proposed by Uthzon, was very original, bright and beautiful, the fan-shaped roofs rising above the bay gave the building a romantic look. As the architect himself explained, the creation of such a project was inspired by the peel of an orange, cut into sectors, from which it was possible to compose hemispherical and spherical figures. That's really, all ingenious is simple! Experts noted that initially the project did not produce the impression of a real architectural solution, but was more like a sketch. And yet it was implemented!

Building

At the place where now there is the Sydney Opera House (the territory of Cape Bennelong), until 1958 there was a simple tram depot. In 1959, the construction of the Opera began, but seven years later, in 1966, Jorn Utzon left the project. The architects from his team continued their work, and in 1967 the exterior decoration was completed. To complete the building to perfection and complete the decorative work, it took another six years. At the opening of the theater in 1973, Utzona was not even called, and the bronze tablet located near the entrance to the building does not contain his name. Nevertheless, the Sydney Opera itself serves as a monument to its author and creator, annually it attracts thousands of tourists from all over the world. It is worth noting that the building is listed in the Guinness Book of Records.

Architecture

The building occupies an area of 2.2 hectares, the length of the structure is 185 meters, and the width reaches 120 meters. The building has a total weight of 161 thousand tons and stands on 580 piles, lowered to a depth of twenty-five meters into the water. Sydney Opera House is made in the style of expressionism with an inherent innovative and radical design. The roof frame includes two thousand concrete sections, steel cables connected to each other. The whole roof is lined with beige and white ceramic plates - due to this combination of colors an interesting movement effect is created.

Inside the theater

The Sydney Opera has five main halls in which there are symphony concerts, theatrical and cameral performances, as well as the opera and small drama stages, the theater studio, the drama theater, the simulated stage and the Utzon Room. The theater complex, in addition, contains other halls for various events, a recording studio, four souvenir shops and five restaurants.

• The main concert hall accommodates 2,679 spectators, and also hosts a symphony orchestra.
• The opera stage is designed for 1,547 seats, and there are also the Australian Ballet and the Australian Opera.
• The Drama Theater accommodates up to 544 people, plays by artists from the Sydney Theater Company and other bands play it.
• A small dramatic scene is perhaps the most cozy hall of the Opera. It is designed for 398 spectators.
• Theater Studio is a hall with a changing configuration, able to accommodate up to 400 people.

Sydney Opera House: interesting facts

- In the Opera hangs the world's largest theatrical curtain, which was specially made by the artist Coburn in France. It is called the "Curtain of the Sun and Moon", and the area of each half is 93 square meters.

- The main concert hall of the theater is the world's largest mechanical body with 10.5 thousand pipes.

- The consumption of electricity in the building is equivalent to the energy consumption of a city with a population of 25 thousand people. Annually 15,5 thousand bulbs are replaced here.

- Sydney Opera House managed to erect in large part thanks to the proceeds from the State Lottery.

- Every year, the Opera organizes about three thousand concerts and other events, which are attended by up to two million viewers annually.

- For the general public, the Sydney Opera House is open 363 days a year, it does not work only on Christmas and Great Friday. The rest of the days the Opera operates around the clock.

- Although the stepped roof of the Opera is very beautiful, it does not provide the necessary acoustics in the concert halls. The solution to the problem was the erection of separate ceilings, which reflect the sound.

- The theater has in the program its own opera written about it. Its name is "The Eighth Miracle".

- The first singer who performed on the stage of the Sydney Opera was Paul Robeson. Back in 1960, when the construction of the theater was in full swing, he climbed onto the stage and sang for the dinner-dancers the song "Ol 'Man River".

- In 1980, Arnold Schwarzenegger in the Main Concert Hall of the Theater received the title "Mr. Olympia" in the competition for bodybuilding.

- In 1996, when the Crowded House group gave a farewell concert at the Sydney Opera House, the greatest number of spectators in the history of the theater was recorded. This concert was broadcast in all corners of the planet on television.

Finally

Sydney Opera House is one of the Seven Wonders of the World. On both sides of the ocean, many people come to the conclusion that this is the most beautiful and outstanding structure of those that were built in the twentieth century. With this statement it is difficult not to agree!