Description
Everyone knows this world famous building! The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts center. It features opera, music, dance, theater, and a symphony orchestra in the Australian city of Sydney.
It was designed by the Danish architect Jørn Utzon and has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 2007.
Quotes:
- It looks like a folded napkin floating in water ~ architect review.
- I wouldn’t mind seeing opera die. Ever since I was a boy, I regarded opera as a ponderous anachronism, almost the equivalent of smoking. ~Frank Lloyd Wright
- Of all the noises known to man, opera is the most expensive. ~Moliere
- Opera is where a guy gets stabbed in the back, and instead of dying, he sings. ~Robert Benchley
- The only thing I daydreamed about was being an opera singer. But I was so skinny and so pathetic that that sort of wasn’t going to happen. ~Patti Smith
- The Sydney Opera House has captured the imagination of the world, though I understand that its construction has not been totally without problems.” ~Queen Elizabeth II
Later the Queen added:
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- “The human spirit must sometimes take wings or sails, and create something that is not just utilitarian or commonplace.”
Sydney Opera House facts:
1. The original cost estimated to build the Sydney Opera House was $7 million. The final cost was $102 million.
2. 233 designs were submitted for the Opera House international design competition held in 1956. Jørn Utzon from Denmark was announced the winner, receiving ₤5000 for his design.
3. Construction was expected to take four years. It took 14 years. Work commenced in 1959 and involved 10,000 construction workers. Sydney Opera House was added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 2007.
4. There are more than 1 million roof tiles covering approximately 1.62 hectares sitting over the structure. They were made in Sweden.
See also: Beijing City with Peking opera pop up card.
This is a card for a traveler, an opera lover, an Aussie friend, an architect, a project manager, or a dreamer.