For the Sydney Opera House, the story that the Unesco world heritage-listed design was fished out of a rejection pile before being declared a work of genius is a pleasing fable, despite its dubious origins. The irony of the Sydney Opera House is that it has become an international cultural landmark for the way it looks, rather than for being “the best opera house that can be built”, as the New South Wales premier Joe Cahill hoped when he launched the design competition in 1954. The actor John Malkovich once said the acoustics in the concert hall “would do an aeroplane hangar a disservice”. ‘The Opera House belongs to everyone’“You could say we are the masters of the compromise,” Mackonis says. Sydney Opera House gets $202m renovation in first big facelift since 1973 Read moreBut that’s not all.

Source: The Guardian January 30, 2020 01:07 UTC