Today on CBS Sunday Morning, I caught a segment on the Sydney Opera House, bringing back a flood of great memories from our trip Down Under back in 2006. The Opera House was designed by a Danish architect, Jorn Utzon, as part of an international competition. His radical design was unlike anything ever conceived before, and the engineers in charge of building it didn't think it could be done. They found a way of course, and now the Opera House is an international icon and likely the most recognizable symbol of Sydney.
As construction ran long and costs continued to escalate, Utzon had a falling out with the committee in charge of building the Opera House. He and his family moved back to Denmark before it was completed. Utzon's vision of the building was never fully achieved and the interior was completed by direction of the committee. Utzon never returned to Australia and consequently never saw his great masterpiece in person.
While we were in Sydney, we took the obligatory tour of the Opera House, but we also went to a Symphony Concert one evening. The acoustics were fabulous and it was nice to experience the building as it was intended. There are five concert halls in the building, and it is not exclusively for opera. Performances range from everything from theater, to rock concerts, to Oprah. No visit to Sydney is complete without a visit to the Opera House, but for a truly sublime experience, be sure to go back in the evening and take in a performance. You won't be disappointed.
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