Opera House Upgrades, Back in 2022 or 2023?

[TLCOhio]

Congratulations to Sydney and Australia for the announcement this past week on the improvements planned for their famed Opera House. When in Australia in early 2014, we really enjoyed touring and learning so much about the design and construction of this very different and unique structure. Maybe, to see this completed project is a good reason to re-visit Sydney in 2022 or 2023??

 

Were the acoustics really as bad as some critics claim? What are the odds that all of the changes and this construction gets completed on time?

 

From the London/UK Telegraph, they have this headline: "Sydney Opera House announces major renovations to fix its 'hideous' acoustics' " with these highlights: "It is famously a building which looks far better than it sounds. The Sydney Opera House has announced plans to fix its acoustics as part of the biggest renovations since its completion in 1973. Announcing a £120 million renovation, they said the waterside sail-shaped venue was 'the symbol of modern Australia' but was in need of renewal. The building, designed by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, is regarded as one of the world’s great architectural feats - but the high regard tends to quickly dissipate among those who attend a performance at its Concert Hall. The Concert Hall will be shut from August 2019 to January 2021. Despite its Unesco world-heritage listing and its 8 million-odd annual visitors, the Opera House has long been controversial, particularly because of its departure from Utzon’s original plans. The flat quality of the acoustics in the Concert Hall – which have been likened to watching a 1980s-era television – has long angered both patrons and artists."

 

We attended a performance in the smaller Joan Sutherland Theater of a Mozart opera, The Magical Flute. We did not notice any problems from where we were seated, but maybe we were either lucky and/or not that great of music/sound experts. The story also noted: "The renovations are set to include installation of a ceiling with reflectors to try to improve distribution of the sound. The stage will be lowered and automated curtains will improve the venue’s adaptability." Maybe this is a good reason to re-visit Sydney in 2022 or 2023.

 

Full stories at:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/08/11/sydney-opera-house-announces-major-renovations-to-fix-its-hideou/

http://archpaper.com/2016/08/sydney-opera-house-upgrade/#gallery-0-slide-6

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Enjoyed a 14-day, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure, getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for more info and many pictures of these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 152,200 views for this posting.

 

 

Here is a view for how the interior of the Concert Hall will look after the upgrades within this large space. Also shown below are some other improvements for certain exterior event and entertainment space at this facility. Plus, a nice web visual of the Sydney Opera House at night with part of the Harbour Bridge shown in the background.:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[MicCanberra]

Thanks for posting the article Terry, the photos are wonderful.

And yes, we will love having you come back to visit us any time, don't leave it too long though.:D

[GUT2407]

In some parts the acoustics aren't great

[MicCanberra]

Pardon, couldn't quite hear you.:p

[GUT2407]

pardon, couldn't quite hear you.:p

 

i said.......

[MicCanberra]

I still can't hear you.;)

[GUT2407]

I still can't hear you.;)

 

 

Loudest I can shout sorry, you must be one of the bad halls.

[Russell21]

Not enough money for the hospitals but Baird still insists that he'll spend around $220 million on the Opera house.

[MicCanberra]

Loudest I can shout sorry, you must be one of the bad halls.

 

Yep, I think they really need to fix up the acoustics in here.

[MicCanberra]

Not enough money for the hospitals but Baird still insists that he'll spend around $220 million on the Opera house.

 

But the hospitals don't bring in the tourists.;)

[TLCOhio]

But the hospitals don't bring in the tourists.;)

 

Russell21: Not enough money for the hospitals but Baird still insists that he'll spend around $220 million on the Opera house.

 

GUT2407: In some parts the acoustics aren't great

 

Appreciate all of these various follow-up and comments. Yes' date=' there are always "debates" and battles over money-spending priorities for some "basics" such as hospitals . . . versus . . . some of the "things" that are important for tourists, egos, images, etc. Both are important, but there is not always enough money to make every interest happy. Kind like the debate about the spending by Olympic host cities for stadiums and facilities versus "taking care of the people".

 

During our Sydney visit, we really enjoyed [b']getting very in-depth knowledge[/b] about the design concepts and construction details for BOTH the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. Both were kind of done by "first-timers", but things worked out super well as to their famed and super prime locations.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

For details and visuals, etc., from our July 1-16, 2010, Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise experience from Copenhagen on the Silver Cloud, check out this posting. This posting is now at 201,903 views.

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923

 

 

Here was one of my favorite "learning experiences" from our touring the Opera House complex. Outside of the building, we were able to see and feel these tiles that were special made in Sweden. These roof tiles are actually made of two different tone on the outside of Opera House roof. If these tiles were pure white (as they appear to be from a distance), it would be too bright and glaring. Interesting little "detail" regarding the design and construction!!:

 

[MicCanberra]

Nice summary Terry and done in a very diplomatic way. You really are our unofficial US ambassador.

[Meamat]

I'm excited to see the renovations, it has really aged well in my opinion and I still feel the magic of it every time I'm there. Parts are quite tired, though, especially the less seen areas like dressing rooms etc. The green room/dressing room/backstage rabbit warren can be a bit tricky to negotiate and I'm not sure how they make some of the logistics work. Still an incredible venue.

 

As far as acoustics quality, it's a wildly different venue to anything I've been in before. Not all bad. On stage in the concert hall, all the sound goes up and you really only hear yourself well. Makes it very important to watch the conductor! It does make it extraordinarily hard to listen across an ensemble though. There are acoustic rings that are lowered depending on the style and instrumentation of the concert, and that does help prevent sound from being lost during orchestral events. They look quite cool and sculptural but serve a practical purpose (though I've heard it's debatable as to how well they actually work).

 

I've only been in the audience for one concert in the concert hall (and going to my first in Joan Sutherland in a couple months), and I was right up the back. I could still hear but I do feel like they could work on the acoustic value of the space. The concert I went to was reasonably well miked, but that meant I lost some of the connection with the artistry happening on stage... in some respects I may as well have been listening to a recording. I wonder if the extra panels they've put in the renditions you posted are addressing that issue.

 

Still, I feel it's a beautiful space and I think anyone with a connection to it feels a bit protective when someone comes in and trash talks it in some way. It was an incredible vision at the time, a massively different space to Town Hall which was used for large concerts prior, and it has remained iconic without really dating itself which is an amazing accomplishment really. I've certainly been in worse spaces acoustically, but then again it's by far the most prestigious venue I've played or visited so they may be setting particularly high standards.