Key facts:
- DATE 1957-1973
- STYLE Expressionist modern
- MATERIALS Granite, concrete and glass
- ARCHITECT Jorn Utson
- The architect has never been to a completed theater
Yacht sails, bird wings, seashells - all this may come to mind when looking at the Sydney Opera House. It became a symbol of the city.
Gleaming white sails rise into the sky, and the massive granite base appears to be anchored to a straight strip of land, washed on three sides by the waters of Sydney Harbour.
The amazing opera house came to the city after it was decided in the early 1950s that the city needed a proper performing arts center. In 1957, Danish architect Jorn Utson (born 1918) won international competition projects.
But the decision was controversial, because the construction involved unprecedented technical complexity - the engineers who worked on the project called it “a structure that can hardly be built.”
Controversy and crisis
Utson's project was unique. he broke a lot of rules. Therefore, new technologies were required for construction; they had yet to be developed. Construction began in 1959 and, unsurprisingly, came controversy and complications.
When the new government tried to use the growing costs and constant overlap in political games, Utson was forced to leave Australia in early 1966. For months, people thought the empty shells on the concrete podium would remain a giant, unfinished sculpture.
But in 1973, construction was finally completed; the interiors did not require much time. Opera theatre opened the same year, public support was strong, although Utson was not at the opening.
The building is made so that it can be viewed from any angle, even from above. In it, as in sculpture, you always see something elusive and new.
Three groups of interconnected shells hang over a massive base of granite slabs, where service spaces are located - rehearsal and dressing rooms, recording studios, workshops and administrative offices. There is also a drama theater and a small stage for performances.
The two main shells contain two main halls - a large concert hall, over which hangs a ceiling of circular segments, and an opera house hall, where opera and ballet are shown.
The third group of shells contains a restaurant. The height of the shells is up to 60 meters, they are supported by ribbed concrete beams, similar to fans, and the thickness of their concrete walls is 5 centimeters.
The sinks are covered with matte and glossy ceramic tiles. On the other hand, all the shells are covered with glass walls that look like glass waterfalls - from there you can enjoy stunning views of the entire area. From all the theater halls you can go to the common hall below. Both main concert halls can also be accessed from the outside via wide staircases.
The competition jury was right in choosing the project for the Sydney Opera House, although the acoustics there are complex, and the simple furnishings inside erase the impressions of the masterpiece. Today, the Sydney Opera House is called one of the greatest buildings of the 20th century, the eighth wonder of the world, and it is almost impossible to imagine Sydney without it.
JORN UTSON
Jorn Utson was born in the capital of Denmark, Copenhagen, in 1918. He studied as an architect in Copenhagen from 1937 to 1942, and then went to study in Sweden and the USA, and work with.
Utson developed architectural style, known as additive architecture. Utson created a lot at home, studied theory, but his name is forever associated with the Sydney Opera House (although difficulties with this project damaged his career and almost ruined the life of the architect).
He also built the National Assembly of Kuwait and became famous throughout the world as the creator of impressive modern buildings in which modernism is complemented by natural forms. Utson received many awards for his work.
The jury appreciated Utzon's initial drawings, but for practical reasons he replaced the original elliptical shell-shaped design with a design with uniform spherical fragments reminiscent of an orange peel. In view of numerous problems Utzon left the project, and work on the glazing and interior was completed by architect Peter Hall. But Utson gained worldwide fame and was awarded the Pritzker Prize in 2003. In 2007, the Sydney Opera House was included in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
The tallest concrete panel sink is equivalent in height to a 22-story building. The exterior of the shell is covered in a chevron pattern of more than a million cream tiles interspersed with pink granite panels. The interior of the building is clad in Australian birch plywood.
Everyone knows that the Sydney Opera House is a true architectural symbol of the city, raising the architect Jorn Utzon (1918-2008) to the pinnacle of fame outside his native Denmark. After the end of World War II, Utson traveled throughout Europe, the USA and Mexico, became acquainted with the works of Alvar Aalto and Frank Lloyd Wright, and examined the ancient Mayan pyramids. In 1957, he won the design competition for the Sydney Opera House, after which he moved to Australia. Construction work began in 1959, but he soon encountered problems with the roof's design and the new government's attempts to persuade him to use certain suppliers. building materials. In 1966, he left the project and returned to his homeland. He was not invited to Grand opening in 1973, however, despite this, he was offered to redesign the reception hall, called the Utson Hall (2004). Later he participated in the restoration of other fragments of the structure.
Utson's departure caused a lot of rumors and hostile reviews, and Hall's appearance to complete the Project was met with hostility. Hall is the author of other administrative buildings, such as Goldstine College at the University of New South Wales (1964).
In 1960, during the construction of the Sydney Opera House, American singer and actor Paul Robeson performed the song Ol Man River at the very top of the scaffolding during a lunch break for construction workers.
- was created in 1973, the British director Eugene Goossens shared the idea. He arrived in Australia as a conductor, but was shocked to learn that there was no opera house in Australia. This was the beginning of the building, or rather the beginning of the dream of building an opera house. He searched areas where it was possible to build an opera house, and also convinced the deputies of this country about the importance of this building, after which it was decided to start a competition for the best project of an opera house. Unfortunately, however, Eugene Goosens' enemies set him up and he had to leave Australia without seeing the fruits of his dreams.
The competition continued and the winner of the best project was the Danish architect Jorn Utzon. Jorn Utzon became an innovator in the history of construction, since before that time there were no such buildings on earth. On the one hand, it was promising, but on the other hand, it was a risky project, which was to be built over the sea, in the area of Bennelong Point, there had previously been a tram depot there. This project amazed the whole world and never ceases to amaze.
Construction began in 1959, the construction was planned to take 4 years, but everything did not go as smoothly as we would like and lasted for 14 years. The problem was mainly due to the roof (superstructure). Many call them sails, some fins or shells. The roof of the opera house consists of 2194 previously manufactured sections. The entire roof is covered with about one million matte or cream colors. In principle, the roof came out very smoothly, but the internal acoustics of the hall suffered; later this problem was solved at considerable expense, since it was necessary to demolish the current foundation and pour a new, strong foundation. Some details also needed to be redone.
Unfortunately, expenses increased, and construction time slowed down, so that even the money that was intended for construction was spent on other objects. Because of this, Utzon had to leave Sydney, as the estimated amount was seven million Australian dollars, but in reality it took about one hundred million dollars. A few years later, the Australians again asked Utzon to begin construction, but he categorically refused this idea. After which the new architect Hall completed the operatic miracle. Exact date opening of the Sydney Opera House in 1973 with thunderous applause from numerous people and fireworks. Still, in 2003, Jorn Utzon, the chief architect of the opera house, received an award. The dramatic and difficult construction lived up to all these years of anticipation, it became a symbol of the Australian city. On June 28, 2007, the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites was expanded, and the beautiful Sydney Theater was added to this list.
The Sydney Opera House became a center of tourist accumulation, hotels, cafes, restaurants and the like began to be built. And if you look at the Opera House at night from the Harbor Bridge, it was an indescribable delight for tourists.
When entering the Sydney Opera House, which consists of quite a few halls, tourists first enter the concert hall.
Concert hall with the largest audience in this theater. This room is equipped with the most large organ, in which 10 thousand are installed organ pipes. One of the highest quality musical instruments on the ground.
The hall seats 2,679 spectators. The opera hall accommodates 1,507 spectators, as well as 70 musicians on stage. The Drama Hall seats only 544 spectators.
Also the Play House hall, which seats 398 spectators. And the very last hall, which was inaugurated relatively recently in 1999, was called “Studio”. However, despite the fact that it opened last, it accommodates only 364 spectators.
In the opera house, namely in each hall, different artistic scenes were held, as well as opera, ballet, drama, dance scenes, miniature theater plays, as well as plays in the spirit of avant-garde.
Sydney Opera House has many advantages, namely:
- unusualness of the project;
- location;
- an ideal place for art lovers;
Many tourists come here to see interesting architecture, and also to see different art scenes.
Sydney Opera House- one of the most famous and easily recognizable buildings in the world, which is a symbol largest city Australia, Sydney, and one of the main attractions of Australia. The sail-shaped shells that form the roof make this building unlike any other in the world. The Opera House is recognized as one of the outstanding buildings modern architecture in the world and since 1973 is, along with the Harbor Bridge business card Sydney.
It is located in Sydney Harbour, on Bennelong Point. This place received its name after an Australian Aborigine, a friend of the first governor of the colony. It is difficult to imagine Sydney without the Opera House, but until 1958 there was a regular tram depot in its place, and before the depot there was a fort on this site.
HISTORY OF THE SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE |
The opera's history began on 17 May 1955, when the State Government granted permission to build the Sydney Opera House at Bennelong Point on the condition that no public funds would be required. An international competition was announced for the building project, to which 223 works were submitted - the world was clearly interested in the fresh idea.
But at the same time, it turned out to be very difficult to implement the idea, because it was necessary to fit two opera houses on a small plot of land measuring 250 by 350 feet, surrounded on three sides by water.
In 1957, Utson submitted a project for the Sydney Opera and won. No one expected this, least of all himself. His project was a series of barely developed drawings that, in fact, represented only the general idea of the Sydney Opera House - the theaters are placed close to each other, and the problem of walls is removed due to their absence: a series of fan-shaped white roofs is attached directly to the cyclopean podium. But the idea seemed brilliant to the jury.
The actual design and construction began. It's a long process. By mid-1965, relations between the architect and the Australian government of Prime Minister Robert Askin had reached an impasse. Davis Hudges, the Minister of Construction, accused Jörn Utson of being over budget, unprofessional, unrealistic and failing to complete the project. Utson was removed from the project, left Australia and never returned there. The project was completed by local architects. Utson was not even invited to the opening of the theatre. His name was not mentioned anywhere. And in 1975, Davis Hudges was knighted.
Construction of the theater was planned to take four years and cost seven million Australian dollars, but the opera house took fourteen years to build and cost $102 million. At the same time, the work of so many years has borne fruit - until now the building has not required any repairs or modernization of the interior.
It cannot be said that the Sydney Opera House immediately became a wonder of the world. For some time, humanity has been keeping an eye on it. Postmodernist times were approaching, and Utson’s bright, desperate modernist attraction excited few people. He was worried Hard times. Today the name of this unfortunate Australian minister Hudges is remembered only in connection with the fact that he ruined the life of the great Utson. Then Utson gained a reputation as a person who draws projects that cannot be realized. He built only simple townhouses in his homeland, Denmark, Elsinore, and public buildings for Arab countries. But neither the Kuwaiti parliament nor the Central Bank of Tehran became masterpieces - their budgets were constantly being cut, reminding what happened in Sydney.
But in 2003 Jorn Utzon still deservedly received the Pritzker Prize for the project of the Sydney Opera House.
The Sydney Opera House was opened on October 20, 1973 by Queen Elizabeth II of England. First performance in new theater there was a work by S. Prokofiev “War and Peace”. Since then, the theater has held about 3,000 performances annually, watched by at least 2 million people.
ARCHITECTURE OF THE SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE |
The theater serves as the cultural center of Australia. Its nine hundred rooms housed the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, the Australian Opera, the Sydney Theater Company, the Sydney Dance Company, and the Australian Ballet. In addition to the opera hall, there is also a concert hall, drama and chamber theater halls, 4 restaurants and a reception hall. theater curtain, woven in France, is the largest in the world. The area of each half of this miracle curtain is 93 m2. The huge mechanical organ of the concert hall is also a record holder - it has 10,500 pipes!
The Sydney Opera House is one of the architectural wonders of the world, perhaps the most famous building of the 20th century. The most Newest technologies and breathtaking design ideas to this day bring all guests into indescribable delight.
Concert hall– the most large room inside the Opera. White birch wood, a vaulted ceiling, and special interior inserts are all used to improve the acoustic effect. Maximum amount seats 2679. Australian Symphony Orchestra, Sydney Philharmonic Choir, and Australian Philharmonic Orchestra– present to your attention a wide variety musical works, including performances worldwide famous artists and singers.
The Sydney Opera House is an Expressionist building with a radical and innovative design. The architect is Danish Jorn Utzon, who received the Pritzker Prize for the project in 2003. The building covers an area of 2.2 hectares. Its height is 185 meters and its maximum width is 120 meters. The building weighs 161,000 tons and rests on 580 piles lowered into water to a depth of almost 25 meters from sea level. Its power supply is equivalent to the electricity consumption of one city with a population of 25,000 people. Electricity is distributed over 645 kilometers of cable.
The roof of the opera house consists of 2,194 prefabricated sections, its height is 67 meters, and its weight is more than 27 tons, the entire structure is held in place by steel cables 350 kilometers long. The theater's roof is formed by a series of "shells" made of a non-existent concrete sphere 492 feet in diameter, commonly referred to as "shells" or "sails", although this is not the architectural definition of such a structure. These "shells" are created from prefabricated, triangle-shaped concrete panels that are supported by 32 precast ribs, made of the same material. All ribs are part of one great circle, which allowed the outlines of the roofs to have the same shape, and the entire building to have a complete and harmonious appearance.
The entire roof is covered with 1,056,006 azulejo tiles in white and matte cream colors. Although from a distance the structure appears to be made entirely of white tiles, under different lighting conditions the tiles create different color schemes. Thanks to the mechanical method of laying the tiles, the entire surface of the roof turned out to be perfectly smooth, which would have been impossible with manual covering. All tiles were manufactured by the Swedish factory Hoganas AB with self-cleaning technology, but despite this, work is carried out regularly to clean and replace some tiles. The interior of the building is decorated with pink granite brought from the Tarana region (New South Wales), wood and plywood.
The two largest shell vaults form the ceiling of the Concert Hall and the Opera House. In other rooms, the ceilings form groups of smaller vaults.
The stepped roof structure was very beautiful, but created height problems inside the building, as the resulting height did not provide adequate acoustics in the halls. To solve this problem, separate ceilings were made to reflect sound. In the smallest sink off to the side of the main entrance and main staircase there is a Bennelong restaurant.
Official website of the Sydney Opera House: www.sydneyoperahouse.com
PHOTO OF SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE |
One of the most interesting buildings of the 20th century is located in Australia. Built between 1957 and 1973, the Sydney Opera House is surrounded by water and strongly resembles a sailboat. The architect of the legendary structure was Jorn Utson from Denmark.
History of construction
Until the mid-20th century, there was not a single building in Sydney suitable for opera productions. With the arrival of a new chief conductor at the Sydney Symphony Orchestra Eugene Goosens' problem was voiced out loud.
But creation newest building for operatic and orchestral purposes did not become a matter of first importance. At this time, the whole world was in a state of recovery after the war, the Sydney administration was in no hurry to begin work, and the project was frozen.
Funding for the construction of the Sydney Opera House began in 1954. They continued until 1975, and in total about $100 million was collected.
Cape Bennelong was chosen as the site for one of the largest cultural buildings. According to the requirements, the building had to have two halls. In the first of them, intended for opera and ballet performances, and symphonic music, was supposed to accommodate approximately three thousand people. In the second, with dramatic productions and chamber music, there are 1,200 people.
Jorn Utson, according to the commission, became the best architect out of 233 who sent their works. He was inspired to create the project by those standing in Sydney Harbor sailing ships. It took the builders 14 years to complete the project.
Construction began in 1959. Immediately problems began to arise. The government demanded that the number of halls be increased from two to four. In addition, the designed wing-sails turned out to be impossible to implement, so it took several more years of experimentation to find the desired solution. Due to the outbreak of proceedings in 1966, Utson was replaced by a group of architects from Australia, led by Peter Hull.
On September 28, 1973, the Sydney Opera House opened its gates. The premiere was the production of the opera “War and Peace” by S. Prokofiev. The official opening ceremony was held on October 20 in the presence of Elizabeth II.
Some numbers
The constructed opera immediately immortalized itself in history. This is truly a huge complex containing 5 halls and about 1000 rooms for various purposes. The maximum height of the Opera House building is 67 meters. The total weight of the building is estimated to be 161,000 tons.
Opera House halls
1 hall
Most Big hall Sydney Opera House - Concert. It accommodates 2679 visitors. The Great Concert Organ is also located here.
Hall 2
The Opera Hall, which seats 1,547 spectators, is used for opera and ballet performances. The hall houses the world's largest theatrical curtain-tapestry, the Curtain of the Sun.
Hall 3
The drama hall seats 544 spectators. Drama and dance performances take place here. There is also another tapestry curtain, also woven in Aubusson. Due to its dark tones, it was called “Curtain of the Moon”.
Hall 4
The Playhouse hall seats 398 spectators. It is intended for theatrical miniatures, lectures, and also for use as a cinema.
Hall 5
The newest hall, “Studio,” opened in 1999. 364 spectators can see plays in the spirit of avant-garde art here.
Since 1973, the Sydney Opera House has been in use almost 24 hours a day without interruption. In addition to culture and art lovers, the building is loved by thousands of tourists visiting Sydney. The Sydney Opera House has become a real symbol of Australia.
Video about the Sydney Opera House
Sydney Opera House (Sydney, Australia) - repertoire, ticket prices, address, phone numbers, official website.
- Tours for May to Australia
- Last minute tours to Australia
Previous photo Next photo
Cruise ship passengers approaching the Sydney Harbor Bridge see huge sails rising to the sky on the left side. Or are these the doors of a giant shell? Or maybe the skeleton of a beached prehistoric whale? Neither one nor the other, nor the third - in front of them is the building of the Opera House, the symbol of the largest city in Australia. The sun's reflections reflected from the water wander across the roof, coloring it different colors, hundreds of tourists on the embankment admire the views of the bay, ships and yachts passing nearby.
A little history
In 1955, the New South Wales state government announced an international competition for best project opera house for its capital. Among the 233 constructivist concrete boxes, the complex system of curved surfaces drawn by the Dane Jorn Watson stood out. The new architectural style would later be called structuralism or structural expressionism. The author received the Pritzker Prize for his project, an analogue of the Nobel Prize for architects, and the building was included in the List world heritage UNESCO during the author's lifetime.
Watson did not see his creation complete. The reason, as always, is money. The preliminary estimate turned out to be 15 times underestimated; the architect was not allowed to complete the construction and was not even paid the full fee. He only managed to erect an extraordinary roof, while other people were engaged in finishing the façade and interior. Later, on the eve of the Olympics, the Australians offered Watson any money to return and finish what he started. But he proudly refused.
Architecture and interior of the theater
The huge building is surrounded by water on three sides and stands on deeply driven stilts. 2 million matte ceramic tiles cover the concrete roof as high as a 22-story building. The changing angle of the sun's rays paints it in different colors. Absolutely fantastic evening lighting turns the building into a radiant gem. The roof surface often serves as a screen for demonstrating video art and color and musical compositions.
One of the two largest “shells” hides the Concert Hall for 2,679 spectators with a magnificent organ of 10 thousand pipes. Under the other is the Opera Hall with 1,547 seats. Its stage is decorated with a tapestry curtain woven in Aubuisson, it is called the “Curtain of the Sun”.
The sound under the magnificent roof was monstrously distorted. The acousticians had to build insulating ceilings over the halls and shape the interior taking these features into account.
The third hall with a capacity of 544 people is reserved Drama theater. His stage is hidden behind the “Curtain of the Moon”, also from French masters. The 4th is intended for lectures and film screenings. In the 5th, avant-garde theater troupes perform experimental performances. The Bennelong restaurant is located in the smallest shell a little to the side.
Today the Opera House is the main Cultural Center not just Sydney, but all of Australia. On its stages there are performances every day, orchestras perform, and art exhibitions are held in the lobby.
Practical information
Address: Sydney NSW 2000, Bennelong Point. Website (in English).
How to get there: by train, bus or ferry to transfer hub Circular Quay, then walk along the embankment for 10 minutes (800 m), of. website of the carrier Sidney Trains (in English)