La Bohème on Sydney Harbour
I only had time to visit Sydney for two days. I’ve never been to Sydney or even Australia before. So the only thing I really knew about and wanted to do was watch an opera at the iconic Sydney Opera House.
I looked up shows on the website, and noticed that there was an option to watch an opera on the Sydney Harbour - outdoors with a view of the Sydney Opera House! I figured that the iconic part of the Sydney Opera House comes from it’s outward appearance and that’s what I wanted to see! It must be pretty much the same as every other theatre inside that I’ve been in, so I was ok not going inside. I can always come back!
After an intense day of hiking the Blue Mountains with my local friend @jimmynhoran we made it to the opera just in time to enjoy a snack and the incredible view of the Sydney Opera House and Rainbow Bridge before the show started!
As you can see, since the opera was outside, I didn’t feel the pressure to dress up… The weather in Sydney was great! I could wear a sweater and feel comfortable.
The stage was impressive! They used giant cranes to lift things on and off stage - like this guy in a balloons basket!
And once the show started, everyone moved to better (empty) seats, so we got a great view despite buying the cheapest tickets. The performers entered the stage wearing long black trench coats to hide from the audience in the dark during the performance.
And since it was outside, the opera team could have a lot more fun with things like creating snow with foam and letting it go into the audience during the break and setting cars on fire!
Oh, and there were fireworks!
The opera itself, La Bohème was about poor Parisian artists who were on the fringes of society. A story about nomads perhaps!
“Bohemianism is the practice of an unconventional lifestyle, often in the company of like-minded people and with few permanent ties. It involves musical, artistic, literary or spiritual pursuits. In this context, Bohemians may or may not be wanderers, adventurers, or vagabonds.” ~ Wikipedia
But most of all, I loved sitting outside in the warm night watching the bats flying by (yes, they have so many bats in Sydney!) to dramatic Italian music.
What a wonderful evening! A bucket list dream come true!