![]() ![]() If we celebrate artistic exceptionalism in its own right, other miracles will follow. ![]() It’s no accident that creativity is the core business of all these buildings. Because these creations, when they’re done well, have the power to change the way we see our cities, like MONA in Hobart, or the Guggenheim in Bilbao, or, yes, the Opera House in Sydney. We must put our faith in bold and adventurous thinking if we want to see bold and adventurous results. But the broader challenge is more intangible. Just as scientists have identified the factors that add up to life on Earth, city planners know what made the Opera House unique, from the architecture to the engineering to the collective sense of creativity involved. To those we can add the miracle of will that supported its existence in the first place. We could describe it as a succession of miracles, if only to emphasise the singularity of the achievement: the miracle of the design, the miracle of its selection, the many miracles involved in its construction and so on. In its own way, the Opera House also depended upon a combination of factors taking place at once. 18.99 (2 new offers) AiScrofa Opera Glasses Binoculars 3X25,Mini Binocular Compact Lightweight,with Built-in Foldable Handle for Adults Kids Women in Musical Concert 466 359945. Credit: Fred Murrayįor life on Earth to be possible, an exceptionally rare combination of factors had to be present at the perfect moment in time. ![]() The opening of the Opera House on October 20, 1973. (And was it significant that two of our most celebrated musical creations, AC/DC and Cold Chisel, trace their origins to those same months too?) As with the Pollock purchase, this was a country that was prepared to back itself when it came to art. This was a country that valued culture as a fundamental part of our identity. Far from shrinking away from culture, this was a country that was prepared to erect a monument to creativity on its most conspicuous stage, not somewhere deep in the CBD, or along the bay, or even at Mrs Macquarie’s Chair, but at Bennelong Point, right beside Circular Quay in the sparkling centre of the city and the harbour, known to its traditional custodians as Tubowgule. The Opera House’s very existence was an unambiguous statement about our priorities. The premier who turned that stone, Joe Cahill, promised a building that would help mould a “better and more enlightened community,” and his idealism reflected what this project meant for Australia’s largest city. But once the first stone had been turned, in 1959, a line in the sand had been drawn. There were, of course, debates about the name, the design and the construction process itself, and it ran seven times over budget. ![]()
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