Sydney Opera House At 50: Top 10 Gigs

Bennelong Point on the mouth of Sydney Harbour has now housed the Sydney Opera House for half a century. The land is known to traditional custodians, the Gadigal of the Eora Nation, as Tubowgule, and since the ‘big sails’ of the SOH were put up the landscape of the city has never been the same. Commissioned in 1957, the SOH wasn’t finished until 1972, and the original designer, Jørn Utzon, quit in the process. So much drama before a drama theatre even had seats in it!

Despite having ‘Opera’ in its name the Opera House has actually housed a huge range of different types of music, drama, comedy and cross-cultural wonderful during its time. The SOH has a collection of its own favourites; proper history buffs can also head to the NFSA for extras, and the SOH itself is running a big year-long celebration to come. Here are some weird, wonderful and sentimental favourites - and no, Prince’s final shows aren’t in the list below, because there’s no way to limit that greatness to just a few lines.

Thin Lizzy – 1978

Not really Opera (in fact not even close) but also, why not? Arranged by local radio station 2SM the concert was technically out the front rather than IN the Opera House, but don’t let that stop you. As part of a Rocktober special (because, of course), it was far from the last time that the devil’s music made it near the great sails. The hair, the clothes, the tunes – legendary. And for free – you don’t get that much anymore, friends.

Royal Charity Concert – 1980

Olivia Newton-John, Peter Allen, Helen Reddy, “Johnny” Farnham, Johnny Young Talent School, Paul Hogan playing for the Queen and Prince Phillip, hosted by a group of local variety icons including, of course, Bert Newton. The musicians are tops, but Bert and Hoges introducing the poms to the idea of the “Rooty Hill RSL” and a chook raffle were worth it alone.

Kamahl – for most of the ‘70s and ‘80s 

If you’ve never heard of Kamahl, think of him as the Australian Michael Bublé of his day. A smooth crooner with a voice that sounded like velvet, his appeal was broad and the music was like lying under a warm blanket. Rumour has it he played the SOH over 30 times in the 1970s and ‘80s – with at least two live albums released.

Billy Connolly - 1995

The Mozart of comedy has performed at the Opera House many times, but the 1995 Downunder Live recording is particularly special. A local release that is now apparently a collector’s item, those who were there remember that during this tour Billy took show times with a grain of salt, reportedly talking on stage for nearly four hours without a break. And we could have handled another four with ease. There’s no film of the show (we don’t think) but he did also film a special while on tour. 

Crowded House – Farewell To The World (the first and second times); 1996 and 2016

First in 1996, then again in 2016, Australia/New Zealand’s favourites gave us permission to sing along, sway along and generally enjoy the heck outta melodic pop/rock. They’ve never been the coolest, and that’s what makes them the coolest. The first gigs were supported by then rising stars Powderfinger, You Am I and Custard, and rain postponed the original concert by a day. Hearing that fans had flown in specially and couldn’t extend their stays, Neil, Nick and Paul (as it was then) did a ‘soundcheck’ on the original day/time that lasted much longer than it should have, just for them. Bless. 20 years later things were much smoother, and delightfully weirder, with Kirin J. Callinan warming their seats before the main show. 

Came So Far For Beauty/I’m Your Man - Leonard Cohen tribute concerts; 2005

A Leonard Cohen music lovefest back in the days when it didn’t look like Cohen would ever do it himself. Onstage was Nick Cave, Jarvis Cocker, the majority of the Wainwright/McGarrigle clan including Rufus, Martha, Anna and Kate, some of Leonard’s original and longest backing singers Perla Batalla and Julie Christensen, Teddy Thompson, Beth Orton, and the then emerging but still flawlessly amazing artist, Anohni. Clips from the show have since been released in various forms including the Leonard Cohen: I’m Your Man film and soundtrack, and even though this writer was sitting so far in the back it might have well have been the carpark on the night, it was still amazing.

Empire Of The Sun - 2013

Equipped with then new album Ice On The Dune, Empire Of The Sun unleashed at the Opera House in 2013 as part of Vivid festival, with reviewer Samuel Hilton noting that punters would be “hard pressed to find a show quite like the one”, adding, “it is quite possible that the band put as much attention into their stage shows as they did into the new album.” And it shows.

Hannah Gadbsy – Nanette; 2018

A complete masterpiece and masterclass. Somehow the concert hall felt like an intimate comedy club as we hung off every word, tense as all hell until she told us we could stop. Technically recorded over a couple of nights (and also performed there the year before), the SOH is not just a backdrop but also an important player – providing exactly the kind of grandness that this artist and her talent deserved – but somehow also an intimacy that let us lean in, even just through a screen – to her.

Solange – 2018

Solange Knowles showed off her unique power as Vivid's 2018 headliner with a production that transported onlookers to another world. The Music reviewer Shaun Colnan noted, “This was not simply entertainment but a performance piece, minimalist and highly choreographed, brimming with out-of-this-world iconography.” It’s a performance that people still frequently reference to this day.

Lizzo - 2020

There are so many contemporary artists that rock the house these days, but damn this was a great one. Relatively early in her rise (an ascension still continuing to climb) the sheer heat Lizzo brought to an already impossibly hot Sydney summer was fantastic. In years to come many more thousands will claim to have been there than was physically possible. 

Honourable mention: Schools Spectacular  

While it’s easy to assume the Opera House is only for the very best of the best at the height of their powers, don’t forget that many have also had some of their very first experiences on stage there too. Events like the Schools Spectacular is like the local end-of-year show on steroids – with school kids from across NSW coming together for all singing, all dancing, all ins. So many jazz hands, and barely a dry eye in the house.