Had to pop up early this morning as I had a 7:00 a.m. appointment at the Sydney Opera House. (amazingly I did make it there at 6:45 as requested). Sunrise is just as pretty as sunset from my room:
Our tour guide, Darryl, quickly dragged us up to the Concert Hall (where I had seen the Mahler concert). The mechs (mechinists) were about to start the breakdown of the set in order to set up for another event. This place was awesome from the stage. We could take pictures this time and some came out good and others came out spooky (I think I need to thoroughly clean my lens on my camera when I get home).
After this quick trip we went back to the sitting area to finish our breakfast orders. On this tour were two ladies from San Jose -- Kathleen and Phyllis; Samantha from Melbourne; Richard from Hong Kong (he had left his family at the hotel); and Jayne and her doctor hubby from Lincolnshire, UK. It was a nice group and we took turns taking pictures and winding our way through the maze of the Opera House. Darryl said there were between 900-1000 rooms. (Can you imagine what a massive place to have to take care of?)
Darryl then wound our way around the underbelly -- the docking area for big semis (they can fit 2 underneath at one time). They had everything stored around there -- carpets (to put up in the Concert Hall when the Foo Fighters came), trunks for Madama Butterfly (the ballet version), sets for other events, and even the disco ball from last night was already underneath there. We couldn’t take pictures in a lot of places.
We were underneath the Opera Stage (where I would see the Ballet later tonight). It had the stage that descended and lifted to the basement. Up on the stage you could see the audience was very close to the stage. They were individually checking the seats to make sure there were no mishaps for tonight. The stage side areas were very tight, he said you could tell it was designed so long ago. No where for the dancers to stop their leaps practically. They have to stop on a dime when getting off the stage.
In the orchestra pit, it was very cramped but set up well. We were allowed to “conduct” with a wand and everything for pictures. The instruments were all out for tonight’s performance.
Next we went to the Studio Theater that I had been in last night. The mech was an expert at the duct tape. The entire cabaret setup has been changed to a stadium seating arrangement for the next performance.
The catwalk in the Drama Theater was very standard and high up.
We got to see the primo dressing room -- the room long windows had a view of the Harbour Bridge. (There was a grand piano and dressing room too.) We got to eat breakfast in the Green Room (just like we were workers there).
After the hike through the Opera House, I strolled around the beautiful Botanical Gardens and up to McQuarie’s Chair (which is a rock and lookout over the harbor). While up there I saw Chinese protestors who were pestering the Chinese tourist buses (there were about 5 buses).
Got to see the National Art Gallery -- they had some nice European paintings and sculptures. I didn’t care too much for the modern art they had in there but it was interesting. They had the Archibald Prize Winners which were portraits and they were amazing.
one of my favorite pictures I have taken
Following the road had some interesting sites -- see they use duct tape down here too -- good on ya mate:
I ended up at Hyde Park and the Barracks Museum which had a good exhibit on Convict Sydney. It was such an amazingly restored building and had rats preserved from the plague (gross).
Didn’t know Australia was once known as New Holland.
In Hyde Park on the way to the Australian Museum, a man was walking and I thought he was talking on his cell phone. Guess he wasn’t, he stuck his tongue out at me, like a kid? What’s up with that?
The public workers here wear very bright fluorescent jackets. I met one in the park, because they were moving a small house in for an event. As in the US he was in no great hurry and just enjoying the day.
At the Australian Museum, had an interesting encounter with guy at the front desk - he admired my ring, hum? Nice guy. Grabbed lunch at their counter -- tuna salad and fruit cup (expensive fruit). The museum was in an old building that had been modified and expanded. The oldest case they had held a stuffed croc and many stuffed snakes -- gross. Excellent exhibits on the Aussie birds, sea animals/fish, backyard pests/neighbors, dinosaurs and an Aborigine exhibit with history and present state. Check out this interesting creature -- a bilby I think.
See our warning of Cassowaries -- bad natured-- let's follow them through the bush eh?
I strolled down Elizabeth Street to David Jones (their Neiman Marcus). Luckily after checking out the place I couldn’t find anything I wanted. They did have an interesting cosmetic counter with a full on sink and apparatus.
Went upstairs to the Sydney City Tower. The elevator up was enclosed (good thing), but extremely small and shaped like a piece of pie. At the top it was a great view overlooking the city and the harbor. I had been in many round towers before --- Seattle Needle, Auckland Tower, and Reunion Tower -- this one was OK with the things on top but the Auckland one had a cool see through floor. You could pay extra to go out on the ledge here but I chose not to do that.
Escaped the maze of stores in the Westfield Shopping Center (looked very nice but just too much for me). Went back to the room to change for the Ballet.
Interesting sites along the way -- the first baggy britches --
Stopped at City Extra right on the Circular Quay for dinner -- lasagna (actually the best I have had here). Nice decorations.
Full moon out tonight over the water ---
Had great seat in the Opera Hall of the Sydney Opera House for the Australian Ballet’s production of British Liasons. As a treat, I had great seatmates -- a mother/daughter pair -- Dorothy and Lindy. Ms. Dorothy reminded me of my grandmother - she was a hoot. I learned quite a bit from them. Lindy had previously worked in the Opera House in PR and they were subscribers to the Ballet. (She is a consultant and told me she was presently in between opportunities :) -- gotta love that expression -- aren’t we all “in between opportunities. Gotta keep our options open.) They gave me tips on what to see and do for my last day in Sydney and explained a lot about the ballet. Also they pointed out that right in front of us was the director David McAllister. Guess we had good seats, eh?
It was a trio of three ballets they performed. The first was called Checkmate and was set up like a Chessboard, they had a very experienced dancer -Colin Peasley. It was an old ballet and it was a chess war with the black queen triumphing over the red king :) The music was beautiful and the striking red and then black and white costumes were amazing. It was what I expected a ballet to be like.
The next ballet was After the Rain, and it was very modernish. Nothing about it was traditional. The music reminded me of a clock ticking in places and the ballerinas didn’t always keep their feet pointed -- they were flat sometimes. The last dance was beautiful, it was like a courtship. It was very piano based and they had fewer musicians in the orchestra pit.
The last ballet was Concerto and was originally set up in the 1960’s. The costumes were traditional -- ie they had flowy skirts, and the music was brilliant. They leapt across the stage in parades almost. The male costumes were also the bright colors but they had “sock feet” like horses do. Very interesting. It was a bright end to a lovely evening.
Afterwards they had a Q&A session. Lindy, Dorothy and I stayed and moved to the front. McAllister, the conductor, and two ballerinas came out and talked and answered questions. It was very informational and interesting. Most of the questions were of the normal kind, then all of a sudden an Aussie asked “So are there any backstage romances?” What? Isn’t that a little personal to ask in a crowd of people to someone you don’t even know? (This happened on the Manly ferry too a lady sat by Paivi and I and asked what I thought were very personal questions, strange)
Had a scenic walk back to my hotel along the Quay. It’s so pretty out here at night and it actually seemed like it warmed up a little.
In the room, Balls of Steel Australia was on. It’s a weird type talk show with guys doing stupid things -- reminded me of Jackass. I guess guys are the same everywhere pretty much. Yes, it seems so reasonable to go to a beach and yell “Shark” just to see the guys scurry out of the water.... This could be in California or Florida. Let’s hope it doesn’t jump the Pacific.
Looking forward to an early morning Harbor Bridge Climb (very nervous about this and don’t know if I will have the guts to do it) and a last day in Sydney/Australia.
No comments:
Post a Comment