The Sydney Opera House was the focus for today. The saying is “a building that was a work of art used to showcase performances of art”.
I had hoped to take the Big Bus to the Sydney Opera House but after waiting 40 minutes at the bus stop, I walked back to the train station and took the trains. See note from yesterday about the difficulty of figuring out the bus schedules.
Good thing I left a bit early for the tour- the trains & stations to the Sydney Opera House are not quite the same as the trains & stations from the Sydney Opera house and it took me a bit to figure that out.
I took the Sydney Opera House tour- what an amazing piece of architecture. It had a sad/reconciled aspect for the architect. The original designer, the Danish architect Jørn Utzon, was forced off the project by a change in government even though he had support from the local citizens. He never returned to Australia and never saw the completed Sydney Opera House in person.
Years later and after the Sydney Opera House was finished, the Australian government reached out to Jørn to see if he would be willing to return to oversee renovations and repair. He declined, partly because of his age- he was over 80 years old- but his son was willing and took over the renovation & repair projects.
Jørn was alive when the Sydney Opera House became a World Heritage Site- the youngest site ever selected.
Odd fact- there are over a million tiles covering the ‘sails’ on the Sydney Opera House and every 5 years they are individually inspected to verify they are not cracked and are still affixed.
The ticket I purchased included lunch so I ate at the Midden by Mark Olive (Indigenous Australian dining) at the Opera House. It had views of the bay and the food was delicious but it must have been a very modern take on indigenous food.
After the tour and lunch, I took the train back to the hotel to rest, shower and get ready for the evening performance of “GATSBY
At The Green Light” in the Studio theater in the Sydney Opera House.
It was an amazing show- I did not realized human bodies could move like that. Per the show’s advertisement: “Find your seat at the low-lit speakeasy called The Green Light. Inside, 1920s glitz meets 2020s energy as talented performers wow you with every move. Expect aerial displays, an electric soundtrack, awe-inspiring vocals and choreography that shimmers with desire.” And there was a warning about the performance: “Production may contain haze, strobe light effects, smoke, fire, coarse language, partial nudity, adult content and themes”.
