A Night at the Opera House

I believe I made it fairly clear that when we grabbed the cab to the Opera House, we were pretty tired, hot, and just not feeling great, or even particularly fond of Sydney (and this is before my wallet was stolen). However, things quickly took a turn for the better.

The Opera House is right on the water, and there is a bench that runs all along the sea wall. We had about two hours to kill, so this gave us time to cool down, write out some postcards, and just relax. In front of us was the Opera House itself, to the left was the Sydney Harbor Bridge with Luna Park right below, and to our right was the Sydney skyline. We watched the sun go down and the people come and go.

One reason we had made sure to eat before heading over was that we had been told that there was a restaurant right there, but got the impression that it was rather expensive. Actually, the area appears to be full of restaurants and clubs. Based on the dress, most of them are rather upscale, but there were lights and laughter and pretty clothes, so it was a great place to people watch.

Actually, we were getting pretty nervous about the pretty clothes. I thought we should dress up, but Julie read on the web site that casual dress was acceptable, and this meant we did not have to go back to the hotel. Well, we did not see much in the way of casual clothes. We quickly realized that the group that was making us feel the worst was really a wedding party, but still most people were a little dressy.

Now, there are really eight performance halls, so on any given night you will see people who are not going to the same event as you, and to be fair, we did find other people who were dressed casually--some worse than us. Nonetheless, we were in the minority. We got a few looks, and one woman even called upon deity as she stared at us. So, it is true that casual dress is allowed, in that it does not get you kicked out, but I don't really recommend it. I have to say, once the music started I didn't really think about it.

Before I get to the show I should talk a little about the building. We did not bother taking the tour because we were attending a show, but that probably would have been worthwhile just to see the entire thing and learn some history. Looking up the link I see that the architect, Jørn Utzon, just died last month.

I believe it is common knowledge that the design of the building is meant to evoke the sails of the ships in the harbor (mostly not sailing ships now, but you get the point). The actual design came from sections of orange laid out. The nautical theme continues inside. The restroom stalls (at least in the ladies room) curve in and out like waves (weird sinks though), and the roof of the concert hall was hung with clear rings reminiscent of life preservers. Apparently you are not supposed to take pictures inside, but I thought they just meant not to take pictures during the performance, so I did snag a few interior shots. My interpretation makes more sense.

I remember calling the Opera House ugly once, greatly offending Brian who thought it was beautiful. I think it is somewhere in between. There are certainly places that I find more beautiful, but it is striking, and it does fit in with the harbor. Also, the acoustics are good, which really is important.

The show was wonderful. I have told many people how complicated planning the trip was. Partly that was due to trying to get the best fares and spend the least time in the air, but some of it was also trying to work it so that we were being efficient but still ending up in Sydney on the 20th. We knew we wanted to attend a performance, and there were a lot to choose from, but this one was the most appealing of all.

Gianluigi Gelmetti (linked to our own James DePreist via the Monte Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra) had been with the Sydney Symphony for fourteen years, but was stepping down. This was his farewell performance, filled with his favorite pieces. The clincher for me was that he was going to conclude with Bolero. I know it has its detractors, but it stirs something in me, and I was thrilled to get to hear it.

I don't actually make it to the symphony that often here. I do a lot of opera and ballet, so I am hearing the pieces live, but as the background to singers or dancers, where they are hidden in the pit. It is something to be viewing the performers, and focusing on them, especially in a piece like this that starts off with just a few musicians, more gradually joining, until it is a symphony of bows gliding and fingers plucking and mallets descending. And there was no smoke or flashing lights or any cheesy stagework dressing it up--it was just the music in its purity. (I'm dissing Andrew Rieu there.)

Now, going in, along with the "Arrivaderci, Maestro" sign, I did notice the net full of red, green, and white balloons suspended overhead, so I was expecting those to fall at the end. I did not see the confetti cannons. So, there is that powerful buildup, crescendo, and BOOM! Suddenly the air was full of confetti and streamers everywhere. I had garlands of it around my neck. I mean, we were in the fourth row, but it seemed to go everywhere. Still primarily the red, white, and green color scheme, but there were also silver streamers and some purple and gold confetti mixed in. People were swatting the balloons around, and everyone was just kind of into it and having a good time. And then Gelmetti came back and did an encore with the William Tell Overture. That's a fun piece.

So that was pretty much it. We had to wander out quite a ways to get a taxi back to the hotel. This is not because they don't come down there, they do, but there are so many other people also hailing cabs that you need to get ahead of the crowd. We made it okay.

The rest of Sydney was already covered, so when I write next we will head to Tasmania.

http://www.sydneyoperahouse.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gianluigi_Gelmetti