Sydney Opera House

[rkacruiser]

What to wear? I wore blazer, dress slacks, and tie and that seemed to be quite appropriate. I did see some gentlemen with open neck shirts and a coat. One man wore formal wear, including top hat. That was "over the top".

 

Enjoy the performance!

[mochuck]

What does one wear to an opera on Saturday night?

 

People tend to dress up for the Opera - the women more than the men, but not quite formal. February will be quite warm, so maybe a strappy kind of dress with a wrap and open shoes. Don't worry about pantyhose.

 

If you don't want to dress up don't worry, there will be plenty of others not dressed up - but its all part of the experience.

[Globaliser]

I did manage to get tickets online to Madama Butterfly for sat Feb 7 at the Opera House.

That's about as good a start to opera as one could hope for.

 

If you don't know the piece, the juicy musical bits to look forward to are Butterfly's arrival (with her attendants); the long duet at the end of the first act after Pinkerton and Butterfly have been married and are being left alone to spend their wedding night together* (perhaps the finest music that Puccini ever wrote in an opera); Butterfly's aria Un Bel Di (One Fine Day); and the humming chorus.

 

You might want to be aware that Opera Australia's musical director Richard Hickox died suddenly in late November. The company - indeed all of Sydney's musical scene - is pretty shocked by this. You may see or hear references to this when you are there.

 

* It has been said that this duet is a musical depiction of ... well, a wedding night. Judge for yourself! ;)

[kathy16]

Thank you for the info about the "dress" and the music. I am really looking forward to it. Sorry to hear about the musical director. It must be a shock for everyone.

 

I did manage to get dinner reservations for Aria at 5:30- pre-theatre. Any recommendations

for meals, and is the time allotted sufficient to arrive on time for the Sydney opera?

Kathy

[Globaliser]

I did manage to get dinner reservations for Aria at 5:30- pre-theatre. Any recommendations for meals, and is the time allotted sufficient to arrive on time for the Sydney opera?

Like all good restaurants, I'm pretty sure that Aria's menu will change with the seasons (possibly day by day). So pick whatever looks good to you.

 

Two hours will be enough (I think your show starts at 7.30), but make sure that the restaurant knows that you have tickets for the Opera House (and at what time) when you arrive so that they don't think that you want to have a leisurely meal. Allow a full 10 minutes to walk from the restaurant to the Opera House - it's a little bit further than you think.

[JennAngel9]

A few questions:

 

We will be in Sydney for a few nights the first week of January 2010. Is it likely we will be able to see a traditional opera (that is, something more like Die Walkure than Jerry Springer) if we only have a few night window? When should the schedule be posted/tickets become available?

 

Also, I notice that the Sydney opera house has a fine dining restaurant like the one at the Met in New York-- is the restaurant in Sydney's opera house open for intermission dining/dessert like the Met is? If so are there restrictions?

 

(For those Opera fans visiting in NYC, I can't recommend faxing in an advance request for intermission chocolate fondue w/ strawberries highly enough-- for logisitical purposes, the Met does not accomodate any requests on the evening of)

[Kiwi Kruzer]

A few questions:

 

We will be in Sydney for a few nights the first week of January 2010. Is it likely we will be able to see a traditional opera (that is, something more like Die Walkure than Jerry Springer) if we only have a few night window? When should the schedule be posted/tickets become available?

When should the schedule be posted/tickets become available?

 

Can't answer that, but we had friends on Cunards Queen Victoria World Cruise this year and they headed to Sydney after their call in Auckland. They scored tickets for the Opera House by going on the net and booking them while they were at sea.

[JennAngel9]

Thanks Kiwi Cruiser. I know they should be available online, but right now only tours are offered.

[Globaliser]

We will be in Sydney for a few nights the first week of January 2010. Is it likely we will be able to see a traditional opera (that is, something more like Die Walkure than Jerry Springer) if we only have a few night window? When should the schedule be posted/tickets become available?

If it's any guide, according to the Opera Australia website the 2009 season was announced on 15 August 2008. However, the chances seem pretty reasonable that there will be something on during the first week or so of January 2010. Opera Australia had Butterfly on 3, 6 and 9 January 2009 (and also on 30 December 2008), and Cav/Pag on 10 January 2009.

 

FWIW, 10 January 2009 was also the first night of the Sydney Festival 2009.

[JennAngel9]

Thanks Globaliser. (I also always appreciate your spelling lesson, as my brain perpetually wants to stick that pesky "u" in Qantas! Now that we are flying on it, I feel I should try to spell it correctly w/o google's help)