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The Sydney Opera House is hosting an array of dance, music and all-round spectacle during August and September – here are some of the House highlights.
Little Murmur is appropriate for audiences aged from seven up. Featuring groundbreaking projections, an extraordinary soundscape and a blizzard of paper and confetti, Little Murmur is a new international dance theatre performance that explores the realities of living with dyslexia through dance and humour.
When: 9-10 August
Where: Studio
Age: 7+
Tickets: From $30 + $8.95 Booking Fee
The award-winning German Trio Gaspard makes their highly anticipated Opera House debut with a ravishing program that is both ethereal and dance-like, spanning master of the classical period Joseph Haydn’s piano trios to 19th-century showpieces and the music of today.
When: Saturday 17 August
Where: Utzon Room
Tickets: $109 + $8.95 Booking Fee
Discover Washington Heights as Lin-Manuel Miranda’s ground-breaking debut musical In the Heights has arrived for a strictly limited season at the Sydney Opera House. The Broadway smash hit tells the story of three generations in a vibrant community, layering Latin American rhythms with the energy of the borough – an energising melting pot of salsa, soul, hip-hop, street-dance, rap, and merengue styles.
This Sydney season is brought to life by an Australian company from across the Latinx and Hispanic diaspora, joined by original US company member Janet Dacal in her Australian debut. Janet was part of the original company of In the Heights, which earned 13 nominations at the 2008 Tony Awards with four wins, including Best Musical and Best Original Score.
When: until 25 August
Where: Drama Theatre
Tickets: From $79.90 + $8.95 Booking Fee
New Zealand’s Fresh Movement Collective will bring their vibrant dance theatre work MĀUI to the Opera House as part of their Australian premiere tour.
A rich blend of dance, music, theatre and projected animation, MĀUI tells the story of the heroic demi-god from Pacific folklore. An evocative live experience, MĀUI weaves together the movement patterns and languages from many cultures of the Pacific region including Aotearoa/New Zealand, Samoa, Fiji, the Cook Islands, and Tonga, reflecting the diverse heritage of the 30-strong ensemble of young performers.
When: 29 – 31 August 2024
Where: Drama Theatre
Tickets: Full price $59.90, Concession $50.90 + $8.95 Booking Fee
Theoretical physicist and cosmologist Paul Davies, philosopher and cognitive scientist Inês Hipólito and neuroscientist Brett Kagan will appear in conversation to delve into how AI will impact human intelligence and our understanding of consciousness.
In this National Science Week event, these four experts will explore how AI is shaping the way we think and will discuss other life-changing scientific developments that are fast approaching.
When: Saturday 17 August
Where: Concert Hall
Tickets: From $35 + $8.95 Booking Fee
Iconic Australian surf films return to the Opera House this August in a celebration of the nation’s mythological surfing culture and its radical roots. First Wave is a curated selection of world premieres, remastered era-defining films, contemporary documentaries and special Q&A events.
When: 9-11 August
Where: Playhouse
Tickets: From $30 + $8.95 Booking Fee
This spring, Sydney Opera House’s UnWrapped series will showcase 14 works, including 11 new commissions, from over 20 cutting-edge independent Australian artists and technologists.
When: 28 August – 15 September
Where: Various venues
Tickets: From $30 + $8.95 Booking Fee
The season explores notions of identity, artistic ownership and concepts of time via multidisciplinary mediums spanning film, dance, performance, AI-generated choreography, music and installation.
- Class Act, Studio | 28-31 August
Comic and playwright Mish Grigor and experimental art organisation APHIDS presents a tongue-in-cheek deconstruction of the classic tale My Fair Lady fromthe point of view of a self-proclaimed bogan. Growing up in Western Sydney, Mish has taken anecdotes from her childhood set against a classic tale to examine the gap between the myth of a classless Australia and the reality of what we see in society.
- AUTO-TUNE, Studio | 4-7 September. Award-winning writer Mark Rogers and re:group performance collective present a raucous work of ‘gig theatre’, told through the eyes of a teenage Silverchair fan who discovers he can auto-tune moments from his past. Fusing theatre, music and video, the genre-defying work presents as an imaginary album that reflects on life-altering mistakes and their impact.
- Plagiary, Studio | 12-14 September. Contemporary dance technologist Alisdair McIndoe, alongside acclaimed media artist Sam Mcglip, present a live performance experiment championing the human body as one of the final sites untouched by Artificial Intelligence. Bespoke AI will deliver choreography to 10 performers in real time across four purely ephemeral shows.
Shortwave, Studio | 8 September. A session of new short films from Australian interdisciplinary artists, exploring their relationship with the screen, through themes of resistance, reclamation and renewal.
