Despite so much richness, the building has had virtually no influence on the shape and form of Australian buildings, which followed. It remains something of an enigma which crowns the silent collapse of Western Classical architecture from being the one language for great public buildings.

Joern Utzon’s historic resignation causes a furore and divided the Sydney architecture profession. There were rallies and marches to Sydney Town Hall led by architects such as Peter Killar and Harry Seidler; other architects resigned their profession and became teachers, chefs, film makers and artists in protest, and the Victorian Chapter of the RAIA (but not NSW) black-banned the replacement of Uzton by an Australian architect. However, as with Governor Macquarie, Greenway, Light, Barnet and Griffin before him, Utzon’s vision had exceeded the norm. The immense difficulties of achievement were seen as a waste and the importance of controlling the state’s expenditure won the day. On 19 April 1966, the new architectural team (Lionel Todd, David Littlemore, and Peter Hall) was appointed in a whirlpool of debate.

The Opera House is situated on Bennelong Point, which reaches out into the harbor. The skyline of the Sydney Harbor Bridge, the blue water of the harbor and the Sydney Opera House, viewed from a ferry or from the air, is dramatic and unforgettable.

Ironic, perhaps, that this Australian icon - the Opera House with a roof evocative of a ship at full sail - was designed by renowned Danish architect.

In the late 1950s the NSW Government established an appeal fund to finance the construction of the Sydney Opera House, and conducted a competition for its design.

Utzon's design was chosen. The irony was that his design was arguably, beyond the capabilities of engineering of the time. Utzon spent a couple of years reworking the design and it was 1961 before he had solved the problem of how to build the distinguishing feature - the 'sails' of the roof.

The venture experienced cost blowouts and there were occasions when the NSW Government was tempted to call a halt. In 1966 the situation - with arguments about cost and the interior design, and the Government withholding progress payments - reached crisis point and Utzon resigned from the project. The building was eventually completed by others in 1973. Sydney Opera House facts and figures The Sydney Opera house was designed by Danish architect Utzon, opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 20 October 1973. Presented, as its first performance, the Australian Opera's production of War and Peace by Prokofiev, costs $AU 102,000,000 to build and conducts 3000 events each year. It provides guided tours to 200,000 people each year. The Opera House covers 1.8 hectares (4.5 acres) of land and offers 4.5 hectares (11 acres) of usable office space. It is 183 metres (600 feet) tall and about 120 metres (388 feet) wide at its widest point. It is supported on 580 concrete piers sunk up to 25 metres below sea level. Its power supply is equivalent for a town of 25,000 people. The power is distributed by 645 kilometres of electrical cable. It has about 1000 rooms. It has five theatres, five rehearsal studios, two main halls, four restaurants, six bars and numerous souvenir shops.It has an annual audience of 2 million for its performances including 1000 rooms. It is 185 meters long and 120 meters wide. It has 2194 pre-cast concrete sections as its roof  whose sections weighing up to 15 tons. It has roof sections held together by 350 kms of tensioned steel cable. The opera house's roof is constructed of 1,056,000 glazed white granite tiles imported from Sweden. Despite their self-cleaning nature, they are still subject to maintenance and replacement. Its interior is composed of pink granite mined from Tarama, NSW and white birch and brush box plywood supplied from northern NSW. It has over 1 million tiles on the roof. It uses 6225 square meters of glass and 645 kilometers of electric cable. Its five theatres are the Concert Hall (with a seating capacity of 2679), Opera Theatre (1547 seats), Drama Theatre (544 seats), Playhouse (398 seats) and Studio Theatre (364 seats). The Concert Hall contains the Concert Hall Grand Organ. It is the largest mechanical tracker action organ in the world with 10,500 pipes. A much smaller set of shells set to one side of the Monumental steps houses one of the formal dining restaurants. The Opera House can be said to have had its beginnings during the late 1940s in the actions of Eugene Goossens, the Director of the NSW State Conservatorium of Music at the time, who lobbied to have a suitable venue for large theatrical productions built. At the time, the normal venue for such productions was the Sydney Town Hall, but this venue was simply not large enough. By 1954, he succeeded in gaining the support of NSW Premier Joe Cahill, who called for designs for an opera house. It was also Goossens who insisted that Bennelong Point be the site for the Opera House. Cahill had wanted it to be on or near the Wynyard Railway Station, located in the north-western Sydney CBD. The ABC screened The Edge of The Possible, a film about Utzon and the Sydney Opera House. The film includes the first interview Utzon had given to Australian TV in 25 years. The Edge of the Possible is directed by Daryl Dellora, produced by Sue Maslin and was screened on the actual anniversary - 20 October 1998 - at 8.30pm.

 It is almost impossible to write of the Arts in Australia without mentioning the building that first put Australia firmly on the world cultural map-the Sydney Opera House. Completed in 1973 after 14 years of much heated discussion and at a cost of over $85 million, it is not only the most well-known Australian building in the world but perhaps the most famous design of any modern building anywhere.
　　Its distinctive and highly original shape has been likened to everything from the sails of a
sailing ship to broken eggshells, but few would argue with the claim that the Opera House is a
major contribution to world architecture. Set amidst the graceful splendor of Sydney Harbor,
presiding like a queen over the bustle and brashness of a modern city striving to forge a financial
reputation in a tough commercial world, it is a reminder to all Australians of their deep and
abiding love of all things cultural.
　　The Opera House was designed not by an Australian but by a celebrated Danish architect, Jorn Utzon, whose design won an international competition in the late 1950s. However, it was not, in fact, completed to his original specifications. Plans for much of the intended interior design of the building have only recently been discovered. Sadly, the State Government of the day interfered with Utzon's plans because of concerns about the escalating cost, though this was hardly surprising - the building was originally expected to cost only $8 million. Utzon left the country before completing the project and in a fit of anger vowed never to return. The project was eventually paid for by a State-run lottery.
　　The size of the interior of the building was scaled down appreciably by a team of architects whose job it was to finish construction within a restricted budget. Rehearsal rooms and other facilities for the various theatres within the complex were either made considerably smaller or cut out altogether, and some artists have complained bitterly about them ever since. But despite the controversy that surrounded its birth, the Opera House has risen above the petty squabbling and is now rightfully hailed as a modern architectural masterpiece. The Queen officially opened the building in 1975 and since then, within its curved and twisted walls, audiences of all nationalities have been quick to acclaim the many world-class performances of stars from the Australian opera, ballet and theatre.

上一页  [1] [2] [3] 下一页