along
Went into Manly lunchtime today, on my way into the city to go to the opera later. It was a dull downcast day and there were warnings against swimming along the Northern beaches. It was quiet, but there were still a fair few people on the main beach.
I walked along to the Corso and decided to go into the New Brighton Hotel for a lunch. I usually come here quite a few times during my visits but this would be only the second time on this trip. I had a lovely steak this time. Great food once again.
I then caught the Manly (slow) ferry over to Circular Quay and made the short walk to the opera house. On the way, I viewed a demonstration of posters showing the evolution of circular quay.
Circular Quay was constructed in 1837-1844 by reconstructing the southern section of Sydney Cove with an artificial shoreline. The mouth of the Tank Stream, which flowed into Sydney Cove at the western end of Circular Quay, was in-filled. The harbour was originally known as "Semi-Circular Quay", this being the actual shape of the quay. The name was shortened for convenience. Wharves were built on the southern shore. Reflecting Circular Quay's status as the central harbour for Sydney, the Customs House was built on the southern shore in 1844-5. During the construction of Circular Quay the eastern side of the cove was used as a quarry and housed construction works. After the governor's residence was moved up the hill to the present Government House, in the 1840s and 1850s Macquarie Street was extended north through the Governor's Domain to Fort Macquarie. This led to the development of the area between the street and the shore into a commercial working wharf dominated by the wool trade, while the eastern side of the street remained part of the Domain. This part of Macquarie Street became known as the "wool store" end. Wool and bond stores and warehouses appeared on the site. The historic "Moor Steps" was built in 1868 as a passage between two wool stores, leading from the shore to Macquarie Street. By the 1860s, all three sides of Circular Quay were dominated by wharves and warehouses.
However, by the 1870s, much of the commercial shipping activities were moving away from Circular Quay. The harbour was becoming too small to accommodate the increasing number of large ships accessing Sydney. Instead, shipping activities moved further westwards to Darling Harbour, which also had the advantage of a railway line.
With commercial shipping moving out, the harbour became increasingly used for passenger transport. The first ferry wharf was built on the southern shore in 1879. From the 1890s, ferry terminals came to dominate the harbour, and Circular Quay became the hub of the Sydney ferry network. The Sydney Harbour Trust was formed in 1900.
Circular Quay was also a tram hub. It was the focal terminal point of most electric tram services to the Eastern Suburbs. The first tram to operate through Circular Quay was horse-drawn, running from the old Sydney Railway station to Circular Quay along Pitt Street in 1861 allowing easy transfer to ferries. Trams operated from Central station down Castlereagh Street to Circular Quay and back up Pitt Street in a large anti-clockwise loop. For many years, 27 regular services operated from Circular Quay.
From 1936, the appearance of Circular Quay was dramatically changed with the construction of a railway viaduct, and later the elevated Cahill Expressway above the viaduct, across the southern shore of the cove. The Circular Quay railway station was opened on 20 January 1956 [8] and the elevated Cahill Expressway was officially opened on 24 March 1958.[9]
The construction of the viaduct led to the demolition of the old Maritime Services Board building on the south-western shore. A grand, modernist replacement was constructed further north in 1940, and is today the Museum of Contemporary Art. Further north, the Sydney Cove Passenger Terminal was built in 1958-1960 to accommodate the increased number of passengers arriving by ship. The building was renovated in 1988, 2000 and 2014. Large liners and cruise ships often dock here, dominating cove.
Major redevelopment of East Circular Quay did not occur until the 1950s. Wool stores were demolished and replaced by a number of modernist commercial buildings lining the eastern side of Circular Quay. The height limit was increased from 150 feet to 915 feet in 1959, and Circular Quay soon became dominated by skyscrapers.
A number of Sydney's first skyscrapers were built around Circular Quay. The AMP Building on the southern shore was the tallest building Sydney when completed in 1962. In 1973 the Sydney Opera House was built at the northeastern end of Sydney Cove. Circular Quay increasingly became a tourist destination in its own right.
From here I continued my walk to the Opera House. I will never tire of this area. It is so vibrant with spectacular back drops everywhere that even the rain could not spoil.
On entering the building I made my way to the Joan Sutherland theatre for pre show drinks and really enjoyed the atmosphere.
Taking my seat in the auditorium I was once again impressed by the size and lay out of the theatre, and this is just one of the auditoriae within the Opera complex.
The opera tonight was The Merry Widow, one I had not seen before and the story line goes something like this: -
The Merry Widow (German: Die lustige Witwe) is an operetta by the Austro-Hungarian composer Franz Lehár. The librettists, Viktor Léon and Leo Stein, based the story, concerning a rich widow, and her countrymen's attempt to keep her money in the principality by finding her the right husband, on an 1861 comedy play, L'attaché d'ambassade (The Embassy Attaché) by Henri Meilhac.
The operetta has enjoyed extraordinary international success since its 1905 premiere in Vienna and continues to be frequently revived and recorded. Film and other adaptations have also been made. Well-known music from the score includes the "Vilja Song", "Da geh' ich zu Maxim" ("You'll Find Me at Maxim's"), and the "Merry Widow Waltz".
I thoroughly enjoyed this performance over three acts. Danielle de Niese played the bubbly, beautiful Hannaa, newly wealthy and newly widowed. The hottest catch in town.
From here I continued my walk to the Opera House. I will never tire of this area. It is so vibrant with spectacular back drops everywhere that even the rain could not spoil.
On entering the building I made my way to the Joan Sutherland theatre for pre show drinks and really enjoyed the atmosphere.
Taking my seat in the auditorium I was once again impressed by the size and lay out of the theatre, and this is just one of the auditoriae within the Opera complex.
The opera tonight was The Merry Widow, one I had not seen before and the story line goes something like this: -
The Merry Widow (German: Die lustige Witwe) is an operetta by the Austro-Hungarian composer Franz Lehár. The librettists, Viktor Léon and Leo Stein, based the story, concerning a rich widow, and her countrymen's attempt to keep her money in the principality by finding her the right husband, on an 1861 comedy play, L'attaché d'ambassade (The Embassy Attaché) by Henri Meilhac.
The operetta has enjoyed extraordinary international success since its 1905 premiere in Vienna and continues to be frequently revived and recorded. Film and other adaptations have also been made. Well-known music from the score includes the "Vilja Song", "Da geh' ich zu Maxim" ("You'll Find Me at Maxim's"), and the "Merry Widow Waltz".
I thoroughly enjoyed this performance over three acts. Danielle de Niese played the bubbly, beautiful Hannaa, newly wealthy and newly widowed. The hottest catch in town.
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