Sydney Opera House

You can't come to Sydney without seeing the iconic Sydney Opera House. Situated right on the harbour, the opera house is a multi-venue performing arts centre. Designed by Danish architect Jorn Utzon, construction of the opera house started in 1958 but was not completed until 1973 and apparently some 15 times over original budget. In 1965 a change in government caused some tensions with Utzon because construction was taking much longer and way over budget. Story has it that the government refused to pay Utzon 100 grand in fees and he ended up leaving the project and never returned to Sydney to see the completed structure. He wasn't invited to the opening ceremony either. In an effort to speed up completion and to save some costs, the new project manager used inferior products to complete the interior of the theatres to the detriment the acoustics and it is estimated that to fix this now would cost $1 billion. What a shame, the opera house is magnificent. Besides the theatres, there are cafes, restaurants, bars and a gift shop. All are relatively pricey, but you are also paying for the experience and the views of the harbour. 

You can take a guided tour through the opera house, or you can do what we did and purchase tickets to a performance. We thought it would be neat to see a performance there, but thought about it a little late in the game. Shortly before we left on our trip we looked up what might be available and found that The Nutcracker was being performed by the Australian Ballet. The only tickets available were standing room, not the most ideal, but we really wanted to do this. So we bought tickets for $59 each for the opening night of the performance. The performance was in the Joan Sutherland Theatre, which is the eastern side of the opera house. 

The performance was incredible. From the sets to the costumes, the orchestra and dancers, it was all just very spectacular. Despite saying earlier that the acoustics are not what they should be, I'll be honest and say that the orchestra sounded pretty darn good, so to the average ear one cannot tell. This is the first time I've ever seen a ballet and such a wonderful venue to experience this in. The performance was split into 2 45 minute acts. During the first act we stood at our standing room spot and it wasn't bad at all. We had a great vantage point, but during the intermission the usher mentioned that there were some empty seats. He couldn't technically take us to them, but did say he wasn't required to look for us if we weren't in our spots. So just as the 2nd act was starting we moved to some empty seats in the 2nd row of the upper balcony. These seats would have cost about $200...what an absolute treat! You're not supposed to take pictures instead the theatres, but I did anyway....the usher told that I wasn't allowed to, so I said sorry and went on my way with my illegal photo! :) 

Inside Joan Sutherland theatre

At The Nutcracker