I was rereading The Phantom of the Opera, and it made me wonder where else a Phantom could hide. Naturally, the Sydney Opera House sprang to mind, but I’ve never been there and have only seen pictures. Is it mazelike at all, or pretty open and airy?
I too have never seen the Sydney Opera House up close, but everyone who sees a picture goes “Aha! Sydney”.
However, what kind of Phantom would inhabit a modernistic stucture like that? Phantoms are traditionally kind of old-fashioned I should think.
If I were a Phantom, I’d want to know if there are catwalks and sub-basements to lurk in. Maybe Sydney has those - I’d ask a Phantom Real Estate company a lot of questions before I considered moving in. Also if there’s space for an organ.
Been there, but not backstage. The theatrical space is modernistic with few hidey-holes.
ETA: image
Question: can phantoms fly? I know they wear capes.
This might influence my decision if I were one which I’m not.
Here is a good animated tour of the Sydney Opera House. I’ve never been but it’s on my bucket list. The basement area – starts around minute 10:45 in the video – looks to be mostly offices and storage. Not a lot of places to hide except maybe some storage areas / closets. Certainly no long-forgotten and abandoned catacombs.
It’s like they have no pride in making a proper Opera House!
When I was there I went inside and wandered around a bit. What I saw was nice but pretty much what I expected. I regret that I didn’t do a tour.
I took a twilight photo of the structure that remains one of my favorite images I have ever captured:
mmm
I went to an opera there in the 1990’s. Did not seem a maze of warrens where a phantom could easily hide.
Been there, did the tour, didn’t see any evidence of catacombs or hidden lairs.
I saw Gurrumul there in 2008. He wasn’t a huge name at the time and was booked in one of the smaller theatres. There were only a few hundred people there. A problem with the booked theatre meant that the audience was taken to a tiny theatre in the bowels of the building. Due to renovation work going on we had to trail, almost single file behind an usher. We had no idea where we were. I actually remarked to my partner, ‘If some guy in a mask jumps out don’t scream, it’s only the guy from “Some Mothers 'Ave 'Em.”’
Been to Utzon’s Yodelling Shack and it’s various theatres and halls many times.
One thing you need to remember is it’s still a pretty young building and hasn’t been extended, rebuilt or substantial structural change. So any nooks and crannies would have been in the original blueprint. No towers or buttresses reinforcing the building which is self supporting. So its more cavernous than mazey.
But there are a fair number of spaces under the sails. Also under the structure as the harbour and tides are used for air conditioning. Yes, the Sydney Opera House is water cooled. Hence there is ducting and access points in areas you don’t normally associate with a monumental structure.
I haven’t been inside, but I did enjoy a glass of Irish Whiskey at the Opera Bar on Saint Patrick’s Day under a beautiful full moon in 2003. The next morning I awoke and looked out of my hotel room window to see this:
Very controversial, to say the least.
I actually went to an opera there 40 years ago, but the seating area was wide open. What was hidden behind and under, I have no idea.
I was there a few years ago. Like any large structure, it wouldn’t be impossible for somebody to work out a hidey hole but I would think it difficult for somebody to pull a Phantom and strike out at people at random, much less enough space to install any large instruments or play them without giving oneself away.
As for sub-basements and such…it’s on the water. Makes more than the one basement rather difficult and much of the main space is accessed by going up stairs/elevators.
You folks are making my dream of an Australian sequel to The Phantom so much harder!