Sydney Opera House Facts
Sydney Opera House Facts
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Interesting Sydney Opera House Facts: |
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Although the Sydney Opera House opened officially in 1973, its planning began in the late 1940s when the Director of NSW State Conservatorium of Music, Eugene Goosens, began to lobby for a large theatre. |
In 1954 Eugene Goosens finally had the support of NSW's Premier for the start to the project. A design competition was launched in 1955 and in 1957 Jørn Utzon's design was chosen as the winner. |
For his winning design, Jørn Utzon won 5000£. |
The Sydney Opera House was built on Bennelong Point, originally a fort. The building's footprint is 1.75 hectares, while the entire property sits on 5.798 hectares of land. |
Construction of the Sydney Opera House began in 1959. Construction was completed in three stages. Stage I saw the building of the upper podium. Stage II saw the construction of the outer shells. Stage III saw the interior design and construction. |
The construction of the Sydney Opera House cost $102 million. It had originally been estimated at $7 million. The building's construction was mostly paid for by a state lottery. |
The performance venues in the Sydney Opera House include the Concert Hall, the Joan Sutherland Theatre, the Drama Theatre, the Playhouse, the Studio, the Utzon Room, the Outdoor Forecourt, and the Recording Studio. |
The Sydney Opera House is 185 meters long and 120 meters wide, and it rises 67 meters high, equivalent to a building 22 stories high. |
The roof of the Sydney Opera House is covered with more than one million tiles. |
The glass of the Sydney Opera House was custom made for the project in France. |
There are approximately 3,000 events held each year at the Sydney Opera House with more than two million audience members in total. |
The Sydney Opera House was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2007. |
The Concert Hall holds 2,679 people; the Joan Sutherland Theatre holds 1,507 people; the Drama Theatre holds 544 people; the Playhouse holds 398 people; the Studio holds 400 people; the Utzon Room holds 210 people; and the Outdoor Forecourt holds a flexible number of people. |
The only days that the Sydney Opera House is closed to the public are Good Friday and Christmas Day. |
War and Peace, an opera by Sergei Profokiev, was the first opera performed at the Sydney Opera House when it opened in 1973. |
The triathlon events of the 2000 Summer Olympics were held at the Sydney Opera House. |
An opera was written about the Sydney Opera House called The Eighth Wonder. |
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