The People’s House: Sydney Opera House at 50

Dr Scott Hill, the curator of The People’s House, marking the 50th anniversary of the Sydney Opera House, opening at the Museum of Sydney on July 1. CREDIT:WOLTER PEETERS.

Julie Power, As the Sydney Opera House turns 50, a letter exposes the real drama behind its shells, WA Today, 30 June 2023

If the royalty-obsessed readers of The Australian Women’s Weekly had their way in 1957 the Sydney Opera House would’ve been named the Royal Opera House featuring the Queen’s Hall and the Princess Theatre.

Less regal names were floated too, including this mouthful: the Sydney National Opera House.

Even the inclusion of “opera” – considered by many Australians to be elitist – in the name was controversial given that successive premiers had intended the new house “as a centre for the performing arts for all Australians”, said Dr Scott Hill, the curator of a new exhibition marking the Opera House’s 50th birthday in October.

Opening at the Museum of Sydney on Saturday, The People’s House goes beneath the parabolic shells to review the drama onstage and off at the heritage-listed building whose shells became a symbol of Australia before it was even completed in 1973.

Its first shows were star-filled, culturally diverse and catered to all Australians. They ranged from opera singer Joan Sutherland, Kamahl, American star Carol Burnett, Les Girls’ Carlotta, the Bee Gees, Lebanese singer Sabah, and a range of First Nations performances that included a very young David Gulpilil and Uncle Jack Charles (prone to running naked backstage, said cast members).

There was high drama at the opening in October 1973. Hill said the famously well-heeled Imelda Marcos, a Filipino politician who was then the first lady of the Philippines, gatecrashed the opening – wearing a tiara – without an invitation.

The opening of the Opera House in October 1973.
The opening of the Opera House in October 1973. CREDIT: FAIRFAX ARCHIVES

More operatic was the question being asked by every newspaper: Would the House’s famous architect, the Danish Jorn Utzon attend? He’d left the job and the country seven years before in protest at changes to his design and the state’s failure to pay him.

“He’s coming,” screamed one headline. Later in 1973, the government announced Utzon would not be attending, although the architect and his wife had been offered an all-expenses-paid invitation.

Despite that, Hill said the most enduring myth that persisted even today was that Utzon – who had resigned in protest in February 1966 at his treatment by the then public works minister Davis Hughes – had been snubbed and had not been invited to the opening.

“It is a very dramatic, operatic plot twist. He wasn’t invited! So, we have a myth that embodies the drama of the performing arts,” said Hill. “Just type into Google, ‘Utzon not invited’ and look what comes pouring out.” It persists on Wikipedia’s page about the Opera House, in footage from the ABC included in the exhibition, and other leading culture and arts websites.

Click here to view more images.

Hill had believed this rumour. When he found Utzon’s letter in the NSW state archives politely declining then premier Robert Askin’s invitation, he was stunned.

Utzon’s reply was also extraordinarily polite and diplomatic. The invitation had pleased him and the many architects who had worked with him, he wrote. It proved “that nine years of hard work … resulted in something good for Sydney”.

Utzon said the press had been pressuring him to attend so he would compare his plan to complete the building with what had been done after his “removal” by Davis Hughes.

The letter sent from Jorn Utzon to the Premier.
The letter sent from Jorn Utzon to the Premier. CREDIT: THE PEOPLE’S HOUSE, AN EXHIBITION AT THE MUSEUM OF SYDNEY.

“Unfortunately, I cannot see anything positive in either the actions of Mr Davis Hughes or the work done by his team of architects and engineers … If I were to go to Sydney, it would not be possible for me to avoid making very negative statements,” he wrote. He’d rather stay away, and hope the House was the theatrical and cultural success he’d worked towards.

Helen Pitt, a Herald journalist and the award-winning author of The House, said she grew up hearing the myth that Utzon hadn’t been invited. “It was fuelled by young artists in the pro-Utzon camps, such as Martin Sharp and Peter Kingston, who even painted ‘HA HA’ on the face of Luna Park, it’s still there, when they repainted the amusement park in 1973 just before the Opera House opening,” Pitt said.

Utzon remained angry with the Askin government for years after, she said. “He said he thought about the Sydney Opera House every day of his life.” Pitt said he wrote later in life: “I have the building in my head, like a composer has his symphony.”

The name of the exhibition referenced Askin’s opening speech, said Hill. Askin said it was “indeed the People’s House. They have built it, they have financed it.”

From 1958 to 1986, the Opera House lottery raised more than $105 million. Unlike today’s lotteries, there was an individually numbered ball for every ticket sold. If there were 11,900 tickets, there were 11,900 balls, for example, said Hill. There were so many balls that only a small selection could be displayed in the exhibition, and the original barrel was too big to be brought to the museum.

The exhibition features a new First Nations’ artwork, which is a woven Opera House, and includes memorabilia, photos, videos and posters. A stuffed possum represents the marsupials that made their homes in the house during construction; one later darting across the stage during a rehearsal.

It looks at the history of the house over the past 50 years, including the work of architects Utzon and Peter Hall, who completed stage three after Utzon departed.

On Wednesday, NSW Premier Chris Minns tweeted an image of the competing designs for the Opera House that weren’t built. “This is what the Opera House could’ve looked like based off old design options – but 50 years on, there’s still nothing better than the real thing.”

If not for Utzon’s vision, we may have had a bright red building submitted by Laszlo Peter Kollar and Balthazar Korab, a large monolithic box by Paul Boissevain and Barbara Osmond, or a design by Kelly and Gruzen that resembled a glitzy casino. (These rejected designs are not included in this exhibition. )

Click here to view all 7 designs.

The exhibition is a partnership with the Sydney Opera House. Martyn Killion, chief operating officer at Museums of History NSW, said Opera House became an instant icon; a symbol of modern Australia that captured the imagination of the nation. Even before it opened, the profile of the sails became a symbol for Australia, used by American Airlines to promote travel to Australia.

“We are delighted to help celebrate a milestone anniversary for this architectural masterpiece and beacon of artistic expression,” said Killion.