The Sydney Opera House is one of the most stunning locations to celebrate New Year’s Eve and ring in the New Year. It is often shown as the first big city to break in the new year. It had long been a dream of ours to celebrate the new year in Sydney and we were fortunate to make it happen with tickets to the New Year’s Eve Gala Event by Opera Australia at the Sydney Opera House.
The roads leading to Circular Quay and the Opera House shuts down for traffic early in the day, and soon becomes a festive pedestrian zone. There are a range of unforgettable events and harbourside celebrations for locals, visitors and families. The Opera House Forecourt is a spectacular vantage point to soak up the world-famous 9pm and midnight fireworks displays. Entry to the site is via East Circular Quay.
There were two shows on the 31st at the Opera House and tickets to either guarantees you entry to the event space along with great vantage points for both the 9pm and midnight fireworks. We had tickets to the NYE Opera Gala event, an excellent production taking the audience through favorite pieces from select operas from 2023 and in the second half, through operas scheduled in 2024. The hosts Ali McGregor, a brilliant soprano and Adam Hills, an equally talented comedian (and Ali’s husband) understood the theme of the night well. Fun! While the orchestra, the Sopranos Julie Goodwin and Sophie Salvesani, along with Tenor Diego Torre and Baritone Luke Gabbedy kept us enrapt with their incredible music and voices from the operas, the hosts kept the night moving with a mix of flawless pop covers and jokes. Ali’s rendition of Barbie Girl by Aqua was unforgettable, as she truly made it operatic.
Rossini’s Overture from The Barber of Seville was my favorite orchestra piece while Sophie’s performance of the Doll’s Song from Offenbach’s The Tales of Hoffman was surreal.
At 9pm, we witnessed the first of the firework displays, this year specifically crafted in tribute to the First Nations of Australia. The 15 minute show, got the thousands of viewers along the bay and piers excited and our vantage point from inside the Opera House was excellent.
The second half of the show was even better than the first with Mozart’s Magic Flute, songs by Puccini and two songs from Verdi’s La Traviata, which was the other full opera being performed that night in the opera hall. Buy Tickets here. At the end of the performance, we felt a new love for the performing arts and left knowing we will seek out more. Lyric Opera of Chicago, here we come.
Australia Opera kept the Opera House open for all the patrons to relax, enjoy drinks and canapes while waiting for the midnight fireworks. The crowds assembled at the balcony as the new year drew closer and as the countdown began, the fever pitch increased and at the stroke of midnight, the skies lit up in thousands of sparks.
The fireworks shot off from the bridge, the piers, and the top of the Opera House. It was magnificent and unlike any fireworks display we had ever seen. There were lights, lasers, rockets, burst of fireworks along with streams of fire and light from the bridge. There was so much to take in, but the important gift was the family around us and the joy we all felt together in that moment. We are going to carry that into 2024.
Karthik Raja 