The Beauty of Sydney, Opera House

There is a structure in Australia that stands as one of the indisputable masterpieces of human creativity. It will be considered as a beautiful work of art not only in the 21st century but in the history of humankind. The Sydney Opera House is recognized as a very unique building. Down in Sydney Harbor, on the edge of the shorelines, on the peninsula, against the blue skies, the structure proudly props its crown up. There¡¯s no question about it. The Sydney Opera House is one of the most outstanding places on Earth. Looking like a shell or a peeled orange to some viewers, the Neptune¡¯s crown appears like it has popped up from the ocean¡¯s depths to admire the beauty of Sydney Harbor.

Recognized as the trademark of the city of Sydney, people from all across the world come to the city to admire the uniqueness of the most original and recognizable building. It takes the lead in the never-ending competition against the neighboring, almost equally, iconic Sydney Harbor Bridge, or the ¡®Coat-hanger,¡¯ as Sydneysiders usually call it. Especially in the summertime, one can barely walk through Circular Quay because it is packed with tourists armed with cameras heading towards the Opera House, or boarding harbor ferries from whose platforms one can see the Opera House from all angles in its full glory.

The marvelous design for the Opera House actually arrived in 1957. A relatively unknown architect named Jorn Utzon was the winner of an international competition for the national opera house at Bennelong Point, Sydney. Initially Utzon was rejected by the judges. The tables turned when a renowned American architect, Eero Saarinen, looked through the rejected entries and his attention caught Utzon¡¯s project. As Utzon¡¯s original designs of the large shells were difficult to execute, he had to make gradual changes to his original concepts over several years. It took Utzon a long and extensive research and testing to finally develop a design based on the complex sections of a sphere. The podium for the building was completed in 1964 and the pre-cast rib vaults of the shells started to be erected.

Utzon had equally spectacular plans for the interior of the completed shells. Unfortunately, he was not able to realize this part of the design because in 1965, the Liberal government was elected in the state of New South Wales and the Minister of Works, Davis Hughes, began doubting Utzon¡¯s designs. The estimated costs and schedules were unacceptable and eventually Hughes stopped payments to Utzon. Consequently in 1966, Utzon was forced to resign as chief architect. Australian architect Harry Seidler led the protests and marches through the streets of Sydney following that sad decision and Utzon¡¯s letter of resignation. A lot of Sydney intellectuals and avant-gardists joined the protests, demanding the reinstatement of Utzon. But the government of New South Wales never offered him this role again and the same year, a disappointed Utzon left the country with his family. The sad part of the whole Utzon¡¯s saga was that he never returned to Sydney to see his masterpiece again.

It was on October 20 1973 when the Opera House opened its doors to the public. The opening ceremony was held by Queen Elisabeth II. On the same occasion, Utzon was awarded the Gold Medal of the Royal Institute of Architects Australia, but sadly, he was not present at the opening ceremony. After its opening, the Sydney Opera House hosted the world¡¯s most famous operatic names: Dame Joan Sutherland, Luciano Pavarotti, Jose Carreras, Placido Domingo-as individual opera singers and as the ¡®Three Tenors¡¯-Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, Andrea Bocelli, opera-crossover Il Divo and many other world renowned singers, orchestras and musicians. Finally on September 16, 2004 the first venue at Sydney Opera House designed by Utzon was officially opened and re-named the Utzon Room in his honor. The great architect designed a beautiful interior for the former Reception Hall with his signature natural timbers and a 14-metre colourful tapestry. The Utzon Room has a spectacular easterly view of Sydney Harbor.