Sydney Opera House

[lennygoran]

I just found out Sydney Opera House does things like this-we always wanted to get there but it never worked out. Regards, Len

https://www.sydneyoperahouse.com/festiv ... sails.html

[Belle]

I was working at our national broadcaster (ABC) when the SOH opened in 1973. There were major flaws with designs of the Opera Theatre (orchestra pit not big enough for Wagnerian opera), and Concert Hall - with some seats having partially obscured viewing. The whole build was botched because there were too many bureaucrats on the job. Today the interior to those halls has been refurbished at great cost - not quite 50 years later - but I'm betting the tiny dressing rooms and access areas backstage are still the claustrophobic rabbit warrens they were back in the early 70s.

But it all looks good on the outside with its projected light displays!!

(Back in those days when I had my "press pass" to drive into the parking area I used to put my car there for the day/part of the day then creep back undetected along the footpaths outside the Opera House and go and do my shopping!! There wasn't anywhere else in Sydney CBD to park!!)

[barney]

Yes, SOH is better on the outside than in, and the theatres are too small (both stage size and seating capacity) so that when shared productions come to Melbourne the sets look tiny on the bigger stage. But there's no doubt it's a beautiful building, wonderfully sited, and is deservedly a great tourist attraction, which enormously helps Opera Australia with ticket sales (much more so than it does the Sydney Symphony O). But to really listen to music, you're much better off in Melbourne, and especially the new(ish) recital centre, named after Rupert Murdoch's mum, which is absolutely world class.

[lennygoran]

But to really listen to music, you're much better off in Melbourne, and especially the new(ish) recital centre, named after Rupert Murdoch's mum, which is absolutely world class.

Barney in the days we were planning a trip to Australia we definitely included Melbourne along with Sydney-after all Melbourne is considered the garden city of Australia, right!. So does Melbourne do any opera? A niece of ours living in the Boston area got a chance through her college to get to Sydney and attend an opera there quite a few years ago-she had no experience with opera and had the misfortune to get Lulu. This is not an easy first opera for one to appreciate imo-it took me a long time to get it myself! Regards, Len

[maestrob]

Yes, SOH is better on the outside than in, and the theatres are too small (both stage size and seating capacity) so that when shared productions come to Melbourne the sets look tiny on the bigger stage. But there's no doubt it's a beautiful building, wonderfully sited, and is deservedly a great tourist attraction, which enormously helps Opera Australia with ticket sales (much more so than it does the Sydney Symphony O). But to really listen to music, you're much better off in Melbourne, and especially the new(ish) recital centre, named after Rupert Murdoch's mum, which is absolutely world class.

Thanks, Barney! That's good to know just in case we have to flee the country in 2024!

[barney]

But to really listen to music, you're much better off in Melbourne, and especially the new(ish) recital centre, named after Rupert Murdoch's mum, which is absolutely world class.

Barney in the days we were planning a trip to Australia we definitely included Melbourne along with Sydney-after all Melbourne is considered the garden city of Australia, right!. So does Melbourne do any opera? A niece of ours living in the Boston area got a chance through her college to get to Sydney and attend an opera there quite a few years ago-she had no experience with opera and had the misfortune to get Lulu. This is not an easy first opera for one to appreciate imo-it took me a long time to get it myself! Regards, Len

Yes, Melbourne in fact does much more opera than Sydney. Sydney has a longer Opera Australia season with more productions, and it has Pinchgut Theatre, a very fine baroque opera specialist company. Melbourne shares Opera Australia, though in a smaller season, but it has two other professional companies in Victorian Opera (which concentrates on modern works and promoting Indigenous works and artists but always has good productions) and Melbourne Opera, which is perhaps the busiest of all. They have done a commendable Ring with Wagner specialist Anthony Negus conducting. Then there are semi-professional groups such as IOpera, Gertrude Opera, Chamber-Made Opera that do a couple of productions a year. That's usually where I see works by Krenek, Weill and the like.

[lennygoran]

That's usually where I see works by Krenek, Weill and the like.

Barney thanks-that sounds like a nice number of choices-I'd love to see more Weill and I've never seen a Krenek-actually never heard of him. I'm googling!
Wow-this is quite a list! Regards, Len

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_o ... nst_Krenek

[Belle]

Yes, SOH is better on the outside than in, and the theatres are too small (both stage size and seating capacity) so that when shared productions come to Melbourne the sets look tiny on the bigger stage. But there's no doubt it's a beautiful building, wonderfully sited, and is deservedly a great tourist attraction, which enormously helps Opera Australia with ticket sales (much more so than it does the Sydney Symphony O). But to really listen to music, you're much better off in Melbourne, and especially the new(ish) recital centre, named after Rupert Murdoch's mum, which is absolutely world class.

Thanks, Barney! That's good to know just in case we have to flee the country in 2024!

Sydney is a much better city than Melbourne, by any metric (especially weather), but neither spouse nor myself can tolerate Sydney these days. Sydney does have beautiful beaches a stone's throw from the city as well as a harbour with great walking and biking paths.
After being in Perth and seeing the very high standard of living of that city (and cheap, first class real estate) we realized that Sydney is a mug's game. Four hours from Singapore/Asia, 10 hours to Dubai for a connection to Europe; that's what you do if you want culture and liveable cities with populations from 1 to 2 million people. Any more than that is just unpleasant, IMO. Full of people we like less and less.

Having access to culture is great but there's also space, tranquility and ease of access; we have it here in spades in regional New South Wales. We have the internet now to provide world class culture anyway without those pesky long-haul flights!! One thing we learned about our year in Vienna: you can enjoy a city with a 'village' feel and polite people even with a 2 million population. Anywhere in the Innere Stadt can be accessed on foot within about 20 minutes. As far back as Westbahnhoff (15th District) down to Schwedenplatz (First District): 20-25 minutes on foot.

[barney]

Yes, SOH is better on the outside than in, and the theatres are too small (both stage size and seating capacity) so that when shared productions come to Melbourne the sets look tiny on the bigger stage. But there's no doubt it's a beautiful building, wonderfully sited, and is deservedly a great tourist attraction, which enormously helps Opera Australia with ticket sales (much more so than it does the Sydney Symphony O). But to really listen to music, you're much better off in Melbourne, and especially the new(ish) recital centre, named after Rupert Murdoch's mum, which is absolutely world class.

Thanks, Barney! That's good to know just in case we have to flee the country in 2024!

Sydney is a much better city than Melbourne, by any metric (especially weather), but neither spouse nor myself can tolerate Sydney these days. Sydney does have beautiful beaches a stone's throw from the city as well as a harbour with great walking and biking paths.
After being in Perth and seeing the very high standard of living of that city (and cheap, first class real estate) we realized that Sydney is a mug's game. Four hours from Singapore/Asia, 10 hours to Dubai for a connection to Europe; that's what you do if you want culture and liveable cities with populations from 1 to 2 million people. Any more than that is just unpleasant, IMO. Full of people we like less and less.

Culture is great but there's also space, tranquility and ease of access; we have it here in spades in regional New South Wales.

We'll just have to differ. I've lived in both cities and vastly prefer Melbourne. Metrics? Sydnedy has more rain, less arts culture, a negligible sporting culture, horrendous traffic, huge disparity between richest and poorest, ethnic ghettos (Melbourne doesn't), and a hugely inflated opinion of its importance (Paul Keating: if you're not living in Sydney, you're camping out). So clearly not by any metric.
If you can't abide Sydney but consider it much better than Melbourne by any metric, I suspect our fair citizens will be spared your presence.

[Belle]

Is this a joke? No ghettos? African crime gangs in spades. I think I could be spared their presence.

You are very welcome to this lifestyle, any cultural benefits notwithstanding. And more and more culture is available online so that we can have the best of both worlds; a bucolic rural Australia and culture, as and when needed.

[barney]

I think you've been listening to alt-right propaganda again. I feel completely safe, on the streets and on public transport. It was Peter Dutton before the last election who ludicrously claimed Melburnians were afraid to eat out because of African gangs. This was a big surprise to Melbourne's flourishing restaurateurs. The restaurant scene here is considerably better, on average, than Sydney (though Sydney certainly has plenty of fine restaurants), and cheaper too, let alone Maitland. I used to edit an Age supplement called Dining Out in Melbourne, and I have some experience of what I speak.
Nor, in this day and age, can you really talk about Africans in terms of spades (I'm sure it was unintentional).

[THEHORN]

Back in the 70s I played a concert in the concert hall section of the then new Sydney opera house as a member of the Long Island youth orchestra on a. five week summer tour of Australia New Zealand, Fiji and Samoa . It was a truly memorable experience, as was the entire tour . The conductor was the founder and music director of the Long Island youth orchestra , who passed away last year at the age of 92 .
Of course, it was difficult to judge how it sounded to the audience sitting playing on stage , but. there have been some negative reports about the acoustics over the years , both the opera house and the concert hall . I'm not sure how both sound now .

[Belle]

I think you've been listening to alt-right propaganda again. I feel completely safe, on the streets and on public transport. It was Peter Dutton before the last election who ludicrously claimed Melburnians were afraid to eat out because of African gangs. This was a big surprise to Melbourne's flourishing restaurateurs. The restaurant scene here is considerably better, on average, than Sydney (though Sydney certainly has plenty of fine restaurants), and cheaper too, let alone Maitland. I used to edit an Age supplement called Dining Out in Melbourne, and I have some experience of what I speak.
Nor, in this day and age, can you really talk about Africans in terms of spades (I'm sure it was unintentional).

Absolutely priceless (but typical) condescensionand snobbery. Striking a pose typical of the bourgeois Left.

Who cares about the business owners or local victims of such crime? Pfft. "Dining out in Melbourne"? My word, those people in the suburbs who have been terrorized by these gangs - many of whom try to run businesses, just as in Alice Springs - can only dream about the 'dining out' experience. Or the Victorian Arts Centre's vibe. But what else can you expect: they're just deplorables trying to make a living - what in the world would they know about culture?

Who cares what Peter Dutton or any politician says most of the time; it's all point-scoring.

[alan c. davis]

My daughter and her partner are both senior police constables in Melbourne. According to them Sudanese gang violence and crime takes up a far disproportionate amount of their time. This despite Dan Andrews saying it doesn't exist. (And please don't accuse me of being a right winger, I'm a life time Labor supporter.)

[Belle]

My daughter and her partner are both senior police constables in Melbourne. According to them Sudanese gang violence and crime takes up a far disproportionate amount of their time. This despite Dan Andrews saying it doesn't exist. (And please don't accuse me of being a right winger, I'm a life time Labor supporter.)

This is what we're hearing all the time too!! It has nothing to do with being 'right wing' (it's a term of abuse when there are no counter-arguments anyway) but caring about innocent people trying to make a living for themselves. Those are people who don't enjoy the luxury of high culture but who are having to deal with marauding gangs in their suburbs. They should not be dismissed as deplorables.

Dan Andrews; the unspeakable, loved by Orwellians.

Sydney is better than Melbourne. It has the Opera House and a wide, open harbour and access to the sea. Not a dirty river miles from the ocean!!

[barney]

My daughter and her partner are both senior police constables in Melbourne. According to them Sudanese gang violence and crime takes up a far disproportionate amount of their time. This despite Dan Andrews saying it doesn't exist. (And please don't accuse me of being a right winger, I'm a life time Labor supporter.)

This is what we're hearing all the time too!! It has nothing to do with being 'right wing' (it's a term of abuse when there are no counter-arguments anyway) but caring about innocent people trying to make a living for themselves. Those are people who don't enjoy the luxury of high culture but who are having to deal with marauding gangs in their suburbs. They should not be dismissed as deplorables.

Dan Andrews; the unspeakable, loved by Orwellians.

Sydney is better than Melbourne. It has the Opera House and a wide, open harbour and access to the sea. Not a dirty river miles from the ocean!!

You were always one for the meretricious Belle, the glitzy, shallow stuff, and money, money, MONEY. Melbourne's charms are too subtle for someone whose eyes are glazed over with dollar signs. But for the record, I am a deplorable who lives in the suburbs.

[barney]

My daughter and her partner are both senior police constables in Melbourne. According to them Sudanese gang violence and crime takes up a far disproportionate amount of their time. This despite Dan Andrews saying it doesn't exist. (And please don't accuse me of being a right winger, I'm a life time Labor supporter.)

I am happy to accept that, and it certainly exists - especially black gang on black gang violence. But also gangs on other young people. But don't forget there are gangs in Belle's beloved paradise in Sydney too, plenty of them, not to mention New York, Chicago, LA, London, Birmingham; almost any city you mention. Nevertheless, as someone who lives in Melbourne, I know how ludicrous it was to claim that all Melburnians are scared to go out to dinner. The only reason to single out Melbourne is stupidity or malevolence.