Renewing an icon

The Concert Hall is the heart of the Opera House and its largest internal venue. As well as being home to the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Australian Chamber Orchestra and Sydney Philharmonia Choirs, it stages a growing program of contemporary music and performance, talks, comedy, circus, cabaret and more.

In July 2022, the Opera House completed extensive upgrades to the Concert Hall.

The multi-million-dollar project delivered extensive improvements to the venue, including: better acoustics for artists and audiences, enhanced access for people with mobility needs, new state-of-the-art theatre machinery and staging systems, and a more flexible and safer working environment for staff behind-the-scenes.

Enhanced acoustics provide better sound

• 18 specially-designed acoustic reflectors have been installed above the stage, replacing the clear acrylic ‘donuts’. The acoustic ‘petals’ have been finished in a semi-gloss magenta – the same colour as Peter Hall’s signature magenta seen in the iconic seat upholstery.
• Special acoustic diffusion panels have been added to the venue’s timber box fronts, allowing for a more balanced and true sound.
• A new state-of-the-art sound system has been installed, increasing the venue’s capability and capacity to present amplified performances.

Cutting-edge staging and theatre systems

•  Automated stage risers have been installed so musicians, particularly classical musicians, who typically sit in a horseshoe formation, can hear each other more clearly.
• A new automated draping system has been installed to make it easier to switch from classical to amplified mode, and to dampen reverberation and create a fuller, richer sound, for acoustic and amplified music.
• The new theatre flying system installed above the ceiling will make is easier and safer to fly a greater range of lighting and scenery, enabling larger-scale, more ambitious performances.
• The stage has been lowered by 400mm to improve sightlines and create more intimacy between artists and audiences. It has also helped to improve and make backstage access flatter and safer.

Improved access & other upgrades

•  A new lift and passageway has improved accessibility, making it possible for wheelchair users and people with limited mobility to independently access all levels of the Concert Hall, including its spectacular Northern Foyer, some for the first time.
• Double the number of accessible seating positions in the stalls and the rear boxes in the circle.
• Two new rehearsal rooms for artists who use the Concert Hall.

 

In April 2019, the Opera House opened the doors to its redesigned function and events centre – the Yallamundi Rooms. The name Yallamundi means “storyteller” in the local Sydney Indigenous language and honours the long history of gathering and storytelling on Bennelong Point.

The project involved removing an unsightly events marquee from the Northern Broadwalk, restoring the building’s original façade and ensuring the World Heritage-listed masterpiece can be enjoyed as architect Jørn Utzon intended.

The Yallamundi Rooms is the first new venue created inside the Opera House since the refurbishment of the Utzon Room in 2004 and is designed for a range of events from weddings, intimate gatherings and celebrations, to community and corporate events.

The Entry & Foyers project combines a number of upgrades that are designed to transform the way the outside of the Opera House connects with the inside.

Enabled by the completion of an underground loading dock in 2015, which redirected 1,000 heavy vehicles a week from the Forecourt and created a more welcoming space for the community, the Opera House is undertaking further improvements at the entry to the site and under the Monumental Steps. These works are due for completion in early 2020.

Improvements being made to create a more welcoming Opera House:

• Replacing the bitumen surface under the Monumental Steps with new paving in signature Opera House granite, creating a lighter space and providing a seamless and safer experience for visitors as they cross from the Forecourt to the concourse entrance.
• A new lift in the main Box Office Foyer will, for the first time, provide an independent path of travel for those with access needs to the JST Southern Foyer.
• Upgrading an existing back-of-house passage and lift to connect to the Concert Hall Southern Foyer. This work will be completed in conjunction with the main Concert Hall works.
• Opening a new visitor lounge in the Box Office Foyer featuring stylish, comfortable seating, as well as interactive displays and exclusive digital content (completed 2016).
• Improving pedestrian access and safety at the entrance to the site by re-grading the splayed stairs near the roundabout, removing steps on the western side of the East Circular Quay entrance, improving the current drop-off system at the gatehouse and replacing existing temporary security infrastructure with permanent bollards. These upgrades have been carried out in collaboration with neighbouring landowners Property NSW and City of Sydney.