From Prokofiev to Les Girls: the first year of performance at the Sydney Opera House

Dr Scott Hill, Curator, Museums of History NSW
Officially opened on October 20th, 1973, the Sydney Opera House had already been operating as a performing arts venue for nearly a year. From acoustic tests to ‘gala’ openings, concerts to plays, to dance and exhibitions, in the months leading up to its opening the new venue was put through its paces. In revisiting the performances both before the opening and in the following year, we see that diversity – in production, content, cast and audience, was a feature of programming. Audiences were as likely to see a rock concert, a surf film or marionettes as they were a symphony or opera.

Several of these performances were broadcast internationally to huge audiences, cementing the role the iconic structure had achieved around the world as the image of modern Australia. Importantly, we also see that a strong Indigenous presence has been a part of Opera House programming since the curtains first rose.
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Dr Scott Hill is a curator with Museums of History NSW, with particular interest in historic architecture, landscape and interiors, and the interpretation of the ephemeral including food and dining in house museums. He is Senior Curator for the exhibition The People’s House: Sydney Opera House at 50, currently on show at the Museum of Sydney.

His PhD in Architecture from the University of Sydney – ‘Paper houses: John Macarthur and the 30 year design process of Camden Park’, examined significant colonial figure John Macarthur and his interest in architecture, and the transmission of British design and building to the colony.