Top 10 Facts about the Sydney Opera House

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Top 10 Facts about the Sydney Opera House

The Opera house in Sydney Australia is one of the most iconic landmarks.

The architecture of the building is quite fascinating and the building has a lot of interesting facets of culture to explore.

This building was added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage sites in 2007.

Jorn Utzon, a Danish architect, is credited with the design of the building. Construction of the building was completed in 1973, 20 years after Jorn was awarded to designing prize after an international competition.  

An estimate of 1.2 million people attend performances held in the house. There are more than 1,500 performances that take place at the venue.

A selection of shows happen at the Opera House annually such as Opera Australia, the Australian Ballet, Sydney Theater Company, and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.

Other than hosting music shows, there are guided tours of the Opera House done every year when 350,000 people are given guided tours of the interior. 

Let’s look at the top 10 facts about the Sydney Opera House.

1. There was a competition to design the building

In 1956, an international competition was announced for the best architect to design a future Opera House in Sydney.

There were more than 232 entrants that participated in the contest with Judges from as far as America taking part in selecting the best design.

Jorn Utzon, a Danish took part in the competition and was able to beat more than 200 contestants.  

It was not an easy win for Mr. Utzon, he was initially rejected by three judges in the 1956 competition to design the Sydney Opera House.

Luckily for him, his entry was picked out by the fourth judge, a renowned American architect Eero Saarinen, who declared it spectacular. 

He was awarded a cash prize of £5,000 for his design.

Before submitting his entry, Mr. Utzon had never been to the site of the Sydney Opera House. He used his naval experience to study charts of the harbor where the building was to be constructed.

2. It was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II

by NASA/Bill Ingalls – Wikimedia Commons

After the completion of the Sydney Opera House, Australia’s monarch Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip officially opened the building on October 20, 1973.

Mr. Utzon who designed the building was absent during the ceremony.

At least more than 10,000 construction workers built it from the start to finish for the duration it took. 

3. The roof’s design was shaped after a fruit

Photo by Zhu Hongzhi on Unsplash

Mr. Utzon designed the roof of the Opera House in the shape of an orange peel. The roof of the House is called shells.

This was the most difficult area of the building to design. M. Utzon said that when the 14 separate shells of the Opera House were combined, it would form a sphere.

Jorn Utzon was further inspired by nature when he designed the building’s functions and colors. 

He was influenced by bird wings, the shape, and the form of clouds, shells, walnuts and palm trees. 

Nature guided him as he combined efficiency and beauty into the design.

4. One of the concert halls has the largest seating space

Another fact about the Opera House is that there are 7 performance venues in the building. 

The venues include; the Concert Hall, the Opera Theater, Playhouse, Drama Theater, The Studio, the Forecourt and the Utzon Room. 

The Concert Hall has the largest seating venue with a maximum of 2,679 guests. The Utzon room has the smallest venue with a seating capacity for 210.

Photos of the building may misguide one into thinking that the Sydney Opera House is small.

There are over 1,000 different rooms inside, each with its function.

5. The tiles of the Roof are of different shapes and sizes

Photo by Adrian Pereira on Unsplash

The Shell of the Opera House in Sydney has over 1 million tiles that stretch to at least 1.62 hectares of space.

The tiles are of different shapes and sizes. Some tiles weighed up to 15, 000 kilograms. 

Each of the tiles were made in Sweden, using concrete beams that changed shape as they rise from a T shape to a Y to finally a U. 

They acted as replacements to columns that supported the weight of the structure as the sails sit on the heavy podium. 

This has made it the biggest column-free chamber in the entire world as well as having the highest roof shell of 67 meters, an equivalence of a 22-story building.

6. Construction of the Opera House took longer than expected

The initial plan on the completion of the Sydney Opera House was 4 years. Construction work began in 1959 with 10,000 construction workers.

The work stalled after Mr. Utzon resigned as the chief architect of the Opera House in 1966.

Utzon left after a new liberal government was elected and the minister of works ended his payment. He left the country in April of the same year. 

Protests by Australians to have him reinstated fell on deaf ears. Later in the late 90, the Trust in charge of the Opera house got in touch with Mr. Utzon whom they appointed the architect again for future consultations of the building.

It took 14 years to complete the building during which several world’s best construction companies were involved. 

7. Building the Opera House was expensive

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Not only did the construction of the building take longer than expected, but also the estimated cost of the Opera House was more than budgeted for.

The initial budget was $7 million. The final cost of the Opera house in Sydney cost $102 million. It was paid for by a state lottery. 

This was 14 times more than the original budget. 

8. The Sails-like structures are the biggest free-standing in the world

The sail-like structures on the Opera House are the largest free-standing structure in the world. They were built using cranes that were specially made for the job in France.

Each of the sails cost 100,000 Australian Dollars. The structures give the Opera House quite a unique design.

9. The first unofficial  performance at the Opera House was in 1960

The first musical performance held at the Opera House in Sydney was done in 1960. 

Paul Robeson was the first to perform by climbing the scaffolding of the building during construction and entertained the workers as they ate their lunch.  

Thereafter, several test shows, a presentation of Sergei Prokofiev’s War and Peace was held at the Opera Theater on September 28, 1973. This was the first public performance in the Sydney Opera House.

10.Sea water is used to cool the Opera House

Musical instruments are said to perform at their best at a certain temperature and humidity level.

The Sydney Opera House air conditioning is unique and favors its location. The seawater directly from the harbor is used to circulate air into the cooling system. 

The cold water runs through 35 kilometers of pipes that powers both the cooling and heating in the building. 

When the Sydney Symphony Orchestra is on stage in the Concert Hall, the temperature must be 22.5 degrees to see to it that the instruments stay in tune. Temperature and humidity are critical to musical instruments.