Sydney Opera House: History And Constitution

The New South Wales Government managed the construction of the Sydney Opera House.

In the early 1950s a group of citizens began pressing the State Government to build a performing arts centre in Sydney. Prominent in this group was the late Sir Eugene Goosens, then Director of the NSW Conservatorium of Music and Chief Conductor of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.

The Premier of the day, Joseph Cahill, was enthusiastic about the idea and it was he who set up the committee which got the project under way. He also set up an appeal fund to raise money for the building. When it became obvious that the fund would not even raise the $7 million the Opera House was first estimated to cost, Mr. Cahill introduced the Opera House Lotteries. The appeal fund raised about $900,000 of the eventual cost of $102 million and the rest of the money came from the profits of the lottery. The building was completely paid for by July 1975. The New South Wales Government today contributes about 30% of the annual cost of maintaining and operating the complex.

The committee set up by the Government selected the site for the building. Known as Bennelong Point, it was named after the first Aborigine to speak English, who was born on the site. An international competition was organised for the design of a performing arts complex and, although this was well known, the misnomer "Opera House" caught on. The winner of the competition, announced in January 1957, was the Danish architect Jom Utzon. Construction of the building began in March 1959 and proceeded in three stages :

Stage I

Building of the foundations and base to podium level. March 1959-1963.

Stage II

Construction of the roof vaults. 1963-1967.

Stage III

Glass walls, interiors, promenade and approaches. 1967-September 1973.

The original design was so boldly conceived that it proved structurally impossible to build. After four years of research Utzon altered his design and gave the roof vaults a defined spherical geometry. This enabled the roofs to be constructed in a pre-cast fashion, greatly reducing both time and cost. Utzon resigned from the project in February 1966, as Stage II was nearing completion. A team of Australian architects, under the direction of the Government Architect of the time E.H. Farmer, took over and, after an extensive review of the proposed functions of the building, proceeded with the completion of Stage III. The team consisted of Peter Hall (design architect), Lionel Todd (contract documents) and David Littlemore (supervision).

The first performance in the complex, in the Opera Theatre on 28 September 1973, was The Australian Opera's production of War and Peace by Prokofiev. The Sydney Opera House was officially opened by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on 20 October 1973.

The Opera House averages around 3000 events each year, with audiences totalling up to two million. In addition approximately 200,000 people take a guided tour of the complex every year.

For more information about the Sydney Opera House explore the following links:

About the Building
Concert Hall
Opera Theatre
Drama Theatre
Playhouse
Reception Hall/Restaurants
Management
Guided Tours
Library
Box Office

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