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Copyright John P. Roach Jr. All Rights Reserved
Cities around the world take pride in their Opera Houses
and Symphony Halls.
They are clearly a statement of their refined culture.
The photos below are just
a few examples.
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| Opera House Cocktail Lounge, Helsinki, Finland. |
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| Opera House, Intermission discussions, Helsinki Finland. |
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| Helsinki Opera House, Modern Interior, Helsinki, Finland. |
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| Helsinki Opera House is in a beautiful park next to the lake. Helsinki, Finland. |
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| Helsinki Opera House, Helsinki, Finland. |
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| Finlandia, Symphony Hall, Helsinki, Finland. |
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| Finlandia, Symphony Hall, Helsinki, Finland |
Taetro Amazonas, Manaus, Brazil
Manaus a city of 1.6 million inhabitants a thousand miles from any
sizable city where the Rio Solimoes combines with the Rio Negro to become the Amazon River. Rubber Barons accumulated great
wealth by the end of the 19th century as the world’s largest supplier.
In 1881 the wealthy residents
missing the culture of their former homes commissioned the building of an opera house. Fifteen years later in 1896 the spactacular
Taetro Amazonas, one of the worlds most renowned opera houses commenced inviting world wide cultural performances.
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| Taetro Amazonas, Manaus, Brazil. |
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| Taetro Amazonas Philharmonic Orchestra preparing for a rehearsal concert, Manaus, Brazil. |
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| Taetro Amazonas Philharmonic Orchestra Rehearsal at Taetro Amazonas, Manaus, Brazil. |
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| Taetro Amazonas, Manaus, Brazil. |
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| Taetro Amazonas, Manaus, Brazil. |
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| The MET, Metropolitan Opera House, New York City, New York. |
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| Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, New York City, New York. |
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| Festspeilhaus, Bayreuth, Germany |
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| Bayreuth, Germany |
Festspeilhaus is in a park setting on the hilltop in Bayreuth, Germany.
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| Cosima Wagner in Festspeil House Park, Bayreuth, Germany |
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| Richard Wagner in Festspeilhause Park, Bayreuth, Germany |
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| Wansfried, The home of Cosima and Richard Wagner near the Festspeilhaus, Bayreuth, Germany. |
Click here to find the book "TRIUMPH OF THE SWAN" that contains FREE sample chapters on the Life of Richard and Cosima Wagner,
King Ludwig II and the construction of the Wagner designed Festspeilhaus.
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| Saigon Opera House, Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam. |
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| Taetro Solis, Montevideo, Uraguay. |
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| Taetro Solis, Montevideo, Uraguay. |
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| Vienna Opera House, Vienna, Austria |
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| Odessa Opera House, Odessa, Ukraine |
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| Civic Theatre, Home of the San Diego Opera, San Diego, California. |
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| Sydney Opera House, Sydney, Australia. |
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| Sydney Opera House, Sydney, Australia. |
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| Sydney Opera House, Sydney, Australia. |
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| Sydney Opera House, Sydney, Australia. |
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| Sydney Opera House, Sydney, Australia. |
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| Sydney Opera House, Sydney, Australia. |
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| Sydney Opera House, Sydney, Australia. |
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| Sydney Opera House, Sydney, Australia. |
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| Sydney Opera House, Sydney, Australia. |
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| Sydney Opera House, Sydney, Australia. |
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| Sydney Opera House, Sydney, Australia. |
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| Sydney Opera House, Sydney, Australia. |
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| Sydney Opera House, Sydney, Australia. |
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| Sydney Opera House, Sydney, Australia. |
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| Sydney Opera House, Sydney, Australia. |
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| Sydney Opera House, Sydney, Australia. |
Sydney Opera House.
With Opera Tickets in hand and the Waitara Train Station only one large block
away,
it was off to Sydney by train to the baroque opera Alcina, written in 1516 by George Frederic Handle.
What a contrast, a baroque opera performed in such a marvel of modern architecture, the Sydney Opera House.
Handel’s Messiah, Water Music and Royal Fireworks were all familiar to us but not his operas,
so Alcina
was an enjoyable musical experience, that relates well to Handel’s other works.
The Sydney Opera House really
does captivate ones imagination. We have visited opera houses
that are considered modern in the US such as Lincoln Center
in New York City and the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion
in Los Angeles, both have separate buildings across a square for
the Symphony Hall and Opera House.
The same is true for Helsinki, Finland with its modern new opera house nearby its
symphony hall.
The Primier of New South Wales, in 1956 announced a competition to design an opera house for Sydney,
Australia.
Danish architect Jorn Utzon won the competition from more than 200 entries from around the world.
In
Jorn Utzon”s own words as expressed in his writing the Forward to the book Building a Masterpiece: The Sydney Opera
House;
"The sensation I felt when it was announced that my scheme had been selected for first prize
was one of elation beyond comparison. The next many, busy years expanded my world and developed me as an architect in a way
that nothing else could have done.”
Unlike so many modern opera houses like the Metropolitan Opera
house in Lincoln Center, New York, or the Dorothy
Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles. Jorn Utzon has combined the
Concert hall, Opera Theatre, restaurants, bars,
Drama Theatre under one magnificent roof suggesting billowing sails
at Bennelong Point jutting out into Sydney Harbor
below and complementing the landmark Sydney Harbor Bridge.
* From the Book "Around the World in a Wheenchair" by John P. Roach Jr. p.103
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| Sydney Opera House, Sydney, Australia. |
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| Sydney Opera House, Sydney, Australia. |
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| Mariinsky Theatre, St. Petersburg, Russia. |
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| Mariinsky Theatre, St. Petersburg, Russia. |
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| Mariinsky Theatre, St. Petersburg, Russia. |
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| Mariinsky Theatre, St. Petersburg, Russia. |
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| Taetro Colin, Buenos Aires, Argentina |
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| Los Angeles Opera, Dorothy Chandler Pavillion, Los Angeles, California. |
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| Los Angeles Philharmonic Symphony Hall, Los Angeles, California. |
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| Los Angeles Opera, Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles, California. |
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| Islenska Operan, Reykjavik, Iceland. |
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| Orange County Center for the Performing Arts, Irvine, California. |
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| Place des Arts, Sheherazade Ballet, Montreal, PQ, Canada. |
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| Stockholm Opera House, Stockholm, Sweden. |
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| Stockholm Opera House, Stockholm, Sweden. |
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