Guest Author - Michelle Taylor, Guest Contributor
Since the early 70’s the Sydney Opera House has been a visible symbol of Australia. A sign to show their sophisticated side as opposed to the rough and tumble “bush” as so many films like to depict.
The idea for the opera house was first proposed by Eugene Goossens, the principal conductor of the Sydney Symphony in the 1940s. He managed to convince many that an opera house was needed, since there was no real place for the opera or symphony to perform. Somehow he actually managed to get these agreements despite the lack of a national opera or ballet company at the time.
But to risk quoting outside the genre, “If you build it, they will come”. And this was the philosophy that fueled the building of the opera house. The government opened up a competition to architects to see who could come up with the best and most inspired design. This was awarded to Jørn Utzon of Denmark on in January, 1957.
The major component of Utzon’s design is also that which is most distinguishable today; the roof sails. Over one million tiles covering an area of approximately four acres make up the sails. They were imported from Sweden in a glossy and almost white tile and a matt and buff-colored tile to give the roof their distinctive pattern
After a change in government (and several missed payments) Utzon retired from the project. It was not until October of 1973 that Queen Elizabeth II announced the opera house formally opened.
Since that time the opera house has been home to not only orchestral, opera, and ballet performances, but to many other fine arts displays. Even the popular children’s group “The Wiggles” have played at the opera house. It is truly a monument for all of the people of Australia, and anyone in the world who wish to visit and admire its vast beauty and breathtaking grace.
In the year 2000, a Swiss group called “The New 7 Wonders Foundation” began selecting a short list of monuments for people to vote on as the new “Wonders”. There were 21 landmarks on the list and people were asked to either call in or log in to the website and vote for the ones they thought represented the greatest achievements of modern man. The Sydney Opera House was among this distinguished list of nominees which also included the Great Wall of China, the statues of Easter Island, the Statue of Liberty, the Kremlin/St. Basil’s, and the Acropolis, just to name a few.
Although the Sydney Opera House was not one of the final winners (for a complete list of the winners go to < http://www.new7wonders.com/classic/en/n7w/results/”New 7 Wonders ), it was still quite a feat to be recognized.
The Sydney Opera House is a true symbol of grace, beauty, and the arts.
