Why go
Look at how the building sits between Sydney Cove and Farm Cove, with the Harbour Bridge nearby. It is a cluster of performance venues rather than a single opera auditorium, so a visit can be about architecture, a production or both. Its history also explains why the building is discussed as much for design as for performance.
The full story
Danish architect Jørn Utzon won the international design competition in 1957. Construction began the following year, and the Opera House opened in 1973 after a long and difficult building process that included cost and scheduling disputes and Utzon's resignation. Those events matter because the finished building became a defining Sydney landmark despite the controversy around making it. It occupies Bennelong Point, between Sydney Cove and Farm Cove, close to the Royal Botanic Gardens and the Harbour Bridge. The position lets you read the architecture in its harbour setting, rather than as an isolated object. The name can also mislead: inside are multiple venues used for a range of performing arts, not just opera. The building joined the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2007. If you are deciding how to spend time here, separate the pleasure of seeing its form beside the water from the different commitment of attending a performance. The official programme is the place to check what is on.