Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da

It was an overcast day with a few sunny breaks, which seems to the forecast for the next week.  This has started to kick in plans to leave Sydney into overdrive.  

I opted to do some light cruising around the city to check out a couple of other neighbourhoods.  I started off going to Paddington (Paddo) just northeast of my location.  It is widely considered the well-to-do area of Sydney.  There were plenty of boutiques and cafes that littered the streets.  I have noticed a lot more international franchises and chains here in Sydney, a relatively unwelcome virtue of the city.  

The homes were quite a collection of beautiful Victorian estates, duplexes and semi’s.  It reminded a lot of the Rosedale/Summerhill area of Toronto.  It was a nice ride around which led me to a great winding cycle lane along Edgecliff Drive back into the CBD.

I was encouraged to try to take in a performance at the Opera House, so I went down to check availability.   I have never been to see an operatic performance, but why not make my first one at this iconic landmark?  The Barber of Seville is currently playing, which would be a good introduction to opera given its comedic relief along with recognizable overtures and arias.  

The lady at the box office was quite pleasant; she mentioned there was currently a promotion running to attend the next evening’s performance indicating that if I took a tour today that any seat in the house would be a mere $50!

Concert Hall Iinterior

I ventured over to the tour desk and enrolled in the Essentials Tour for a $30 fee.  The tour was an hour in length that included trips into both main halls (Concert & Opera) as well as some historical reference to the land area, building design/erection/architecture.  

Jorn Utzon, a Finnish Dane was the brilliant mind behind this modern day masterpiece.  Interestingly enough his selection based on very rough sketches was chosen from leading panellist Eero Saarinen from the discard pile.  As per usual there were a number of critics to the original design and the project eclipsed time and budget plans by a lot.  

Originally planned at $7M over a 3yr period, the final project was completed at $150M over a 16yr span.  As political tensions grew over time along with a change in Government in the mid 60’s it led to Utzon resigning from the project.  Although he never returned to Sydney from then on to his death in 2008, he was reengaged by the Government in 1999 to provide insight on future development including interior designs giving them original plans he had taken with him upon his resignation.  

The Concert Hall is actually the larger venue, which was originally intended for the Opera.  However, poor reverb acoustics caused operatic performances to the adjacent Opera Hall.  The Concert Hall is primarily used for Symphony, concerts and public speaking tours.  

The Opera House is a self-sufficient run organization, which is only slightly subsidized by the Government, thus it is available as venue space to the public. Any of the Halls, theatre rooms or reception areas is accessible for a price. Naturally a lot of weddings do take place there. 

After the tour I made my way back to the box office.  I managed to secure a ticket in the first row of the Dress Circle, Centre Stage for $50 that has a value of $280!  A net savings of $200, including the tour cost was an amazing value.

Thankfully there isn’t a dress code enforced at the Opera, so I donned a pair of designer jeans and an English Laundry long sleeve button shirt as I headed off to the performance the following night.  There was a wide audience range, mostly middle aged and dressed to impress.  However, I didn’t feel too out of place.

The performance began promptly at 7:30p commencing with the Orchestra playing the noted overture.  The show was conducted in Italian; however there was a surtitle board above the stage that I did peak at now then, as my Italian isn’t up to snuff as it should be.  Nonetheless, I was able to decipher more than I thought as the surtitles were not a verbatim translation.  

The Opera consisted of four scenes in two acts with an intermission between the acts, whereby I enjoyed a glass of Chandon Brut.  Perché Non?  The opening act and scene were the best, but overall the performance was fantastic!

The singers had booming voices that matched their acting skills very well.  There was a lot of humour in the performance, especially Dr. Bartolo’s male servant.  Hilarious.  I had an incredible time!  It was far better than my childhood recollection of this noted opera.