Tens of thousands of visitors tour the Sydney Opera House every year. Far fewer buy tickets and actually go inside for a performance. This is the wrong way around. The tour is worthwhile; the performance is transformative. Seeing live music, theatre, or opera inside the building changes your understanding of it in a way that no amount of exterior photographs or guided commentary can achieve.
The Opera House sits on Bennelong Point, jutting into Sydney Harbour between Circular Quay and the Harbour Bridge. Jørn Utzon’s design — those impossibly gravity-defying roof shells — is one of the most recognisable pieces of architecture on earth. But it is, first and foremost, a performing arts venue. A spectacular one.
The Concert Hall
The Concert Hall is the Opera House’s main venue and its acoustic showpiece. Seating 2,679 people, it’s home to the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and hosts visiting orchestras, soloists, and ensembles from around the world. The acoustic refurbishment completed in 2022 — which involved reconfiguring the ceiling’s acoustic canopy — has made what was already a world-class listening environment into something genuinely exceptional.
For first-time visitors, a Sydney Symphony concert in the Concert Hall is the definitive Opera House experience. The combination of the room’s extraordinary acoustics, the visual drama of the interior (which few people expect to be so beautiful), and the quality of the orchestra — one of the finest in the Asia-Pacific — makes for an evening that’s hard to forget.
The Joan Sutherland Theatre
The Joan Sutherland Theatre (formerly the Opera Theatre) is home to Opera Australia and the Australian Ballet. It seats 1,547 and is where the Opera House’s headline lyric theatre programming takes place. If Opera Australia is presenting a production during your visit, this is worth prioritising — OA’s productions regularly tour internationally and the repertoire ranges from the popular (La Traviata, Carmen, La Bohème) to the adventurous.
The Australian Ballet seasons here typically feature a mix of classic full-length ballets and contemporary programs. Both companies are of an extremely high standard by any international measure.
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The Drama Theatre, Playhouse and Studio
The Sydney Theatre Company uses these three smaller spaces for its main-stage and experimental programming. The Drama Theatre (seating 544) hosts the company’s larger productions; the Playhouse (398 seats) and the Studio (flexible format) are where more adventurous or new Australian work tends to appear. STC has been one of Australia’s leading theatre companies for decades and has launched many of the country’s finest actors internationally.
For visitors who aren’t specifically opera or ballet fans, an STC production at the Opera House is an excellent alternative — you still get the full experience of the building, the harbour setting, and pre-show drinks on the forecourt, while seeing some of the best contemporary Australian theatre work.
The Forecourt and Pre-Show Experience
Arriving early is strongly recommended, not just for practical reasons but because the pre-show experience on the Opera House forecourt is part of the occasion. The western foyer bars open before performances and offer views across the harbour to the Bridge. On warm Sydney evenings, with the light fading over the water and the white shells illuminated above, this is one of the most beautiful places to have a drink in the world.
Bennelong Restaurant, operated by Peter Gilmore of Quay, sits inside the Opera House itself and has some of the finest views of any restaurant in Australia. A pre-show dinner here turns the evening into a significant occasion. Book well in advance.
Booking Tickets
The Sydney Opera House programs year-round. Book directly through the Opera House website, which shows all productions across all venues in a single calendar. Ticket prices vary enormously — from under $50 for smaller or experimental productions to several hundred dollars for premium stalls seats at a high-profile opera or ballet. Most venues have good sightlines from most positions; even the upper levels of the Concert Hall offer an excellent experience.
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Rush tickets are available for many productions — check the website on the day of performance. Accessible seating and companion card concessions are available across all venues. Some productions, particularly those presented by the Opera House’s own programming team rather than resident companies, are priced competitively and represent outstanding value.
Whatever you see, buy the ticket. The building earns its reputation from the inside.
Exploring more of Sydney and New South Wales, read our guides to the best food in Sydney, 3 days in Sydney, Sydney vs Melbourne, getting from Sydney to Melbourne, the best beaches near Sydney, Sydney in one day, and free things to do in Sydney.
