Celebrate the extraordinary

The Sydney Opera House has been a source of wonder ever since it was a sketch sent across the seas. From a small coastal town in Denmark came a vision that would test the limits of engineering and design, forever changing the face of Sydney.

When the building opened in 1973, the world looked to Sydney Harbour and breathed in the moment: a new era of creativity and connection was underway. 

Fifty years on, the Opera House is the symbol of modern Australia and a vibrant community meeting place. As one of the world’s busiest performing arts centres, it embraces a variety of creative expressions that spans contemporary music, dance, symphony orchestras, children’s theatre, talks, comedy, First Nations storytelling and more. The spirit soars in its presence. To visit Bennelong Point – known to its traditional custodians as Tubowgule – is to encounter a story of contemporary culture that renews itself each day.

Gallery

Judges regard Utzon's initial design for the Sydney Opera House, 1957. From left to right, Harry Ashworth, Eero Saarinen, Cobden Parkes and Leslie Martin. Photo from Mitchell Library collection, SLNSW.
Jørn Utzon at the drafting table at the Hellebæk office, Denmark, 1959. Photo: Yuzo Mikami, Collection: Sydney Opera House.
Stage One of Sydney Opera House construction (the Podium) began in 1959 and was completed in 1963. 1959 Collection: Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales.
Stage One of Sydney Opera House construction (the Podium) began in 1959 and was completed in 1963. 1959 Collection: Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales.
Paul Robeson singing for construction workers at the Sydney Opera House, 1960.
Jǿrn Utzon's family and friends walk through the underside of the Monumental Steps. Jan Utzon can be seen in the foreground, 1965. Photo: Jørn Utzon, Collection: Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales.
Stage Two construction, when the roof, a product of the Spherical Solution, was completed, 1967. Photo: Max Dupain Collection: Max Dupain and Associates records and negative archive, 1905-2011, State Library of New South Wales.
Sydney Opera House, interior of Concert Hall, 1971. Photo: Max Dupain, Collection: Mitchell Library, State Library New South Wales.
Sydney Opera House construction, Stage Three, the interiors: Peter Hall, David Littlemore and Lionel Todd, 1973. Photo: Max Dupain, Collection: Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales.
Sydney Opera House construction, Stage Three, the interiors. Photo: Max Dupain, Collection: Max Dupain and Associates records and negative archive, 1905-2011, State Library of New South Wales.
Sydney Opera House, 20 October 1973, day of official opening by Queen Elizabeth II. Photo: Max Dupain, Collection: Max Dupain and Associates records and negative archive, 1905-2011, State Library of New South Wales.
Sydney Opera House, 20 October 1973: Queen Elizabeth II meets members of the crowd at Sydney Opera House opening. Photo: Leo Davis Collection.
People seated on the Monumental Steps to watch the grand opening of the Sydney Opera House on 20 October 1973. Photo: Leo Davis.
Sydney Opera House, Joan Sutherland Theatre with Curtain of the Sun, by artist John Coburn, 1973. Photo: Max Dupain, Collection: Max Dupain and Associates records and negative archive, 1905-2011, State Library of New South Wales.
Dame Joan Sutherland and Pavarotti perform in the Concert Hall, 1983. By the 1980s, the Opera House had become Sydney’s centre for art and creativity, attracting the best performers from around the world. Photo: Don McMurdo.
Nelson Mandela spoke of forgiveness to a crowd of 40,000 on the Sydney Opera House Monumental Steps, 24 October 1990. Since its opening, the Opera House has been a community meeting place for moments of national and international significance.
The Australian Opera – Baz Luhrmann’s La Boheme – Opera Theatre, 1993. Photo: Don McMurdo.
Artists of The Australian Ballet in Graeme Murphy’s Swan Lake, 2005. Photo: Jim McFarlane.
John Bell as King Lear, with Peter Carroll, in Bell Shakespeare’s production, 2010. Bell Shakespeare is one of eight Resident Companies at Sydney Opera House. Photography by Wendy McDougall.
Kraftwerk perform The Mix at Vivid LIVE, 2013. Photo: Daniel Boud & Prudence Upton.
The National perform on the Forecourt, 2014. Photo: Daniel Boud.
Paula Arundell and Robert Menzies in Sydney Theatre Company’s 'A Midsummer Night’s Dream‘, directed by Kip Williams, 2016. Photo: Brett Boardman.
Paul Kelly performs on the Forecourt, 2017. Photo: Prudence Upton.
Lizzo performs in the Concert Hall, 2020. Photo: Prudence Upton.
Richard Tognetti performing in ACO StudioCast: Love & Transfiguration, 2021. Australian Chamber Orchestra. Photography by Tyson Perkins & Drew English.
Rika Hamaguchi in Bangarra Dance Theatre's 'SandSong', 2021. Photo: Daniel Boud.
The Sydney Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Simone Young, and Sydney Philharmonia Choir at the reopening of the Concert Hall, 2022. Photo: Daniel Boud.
On opening day of the Centre for Creativity (4 January 2022), Matthew Doyle, lead delighted children and families into the venue for the first time with a solo digeridoo performance. Photo: Cassandra Hannagan.