The People's House: Sydney Opera House at 50

The People’s House: Sydney Opera House at 50 at the Museum of Sydney celebrates five decades of extraordinary performances and unforgettable moments at the Sydney Opera House. This year, we commemorate 50 incredible years of this architectural marvel that has become Sydney’s great civic space and ‘the people’s house’.

Since its grand opening on 20 October 1973, the Opera House has stood as a beacon of artistic expression, leaving an indelible mark on the global stage. Its iconic silhouette has become a symbol of Sydney, and Australia.

Relive the magic of past performances and events and go behind the scenes to discover the remarkable stories that have shaped the Opera House from its very first year to now. View extraordinary costumes, posters and programs, rare archival records, architectural drawings, photographs and much more.

Explore the Opera House’s architectural details through a playful LEGO® model, test your design skills with our digital drafting table and conduct a virtual orchestra in Maestro, an interactive space where you'll collaborate in the creation of an audiovisual performance.

Artworks include a specially commissioned woven Opera House by master First Nations weavers Steven Russell and Phyllis Stewart that responds to the iconic shellwork of the Opera House created by renowned Bidjigal artist and elder Esme Timbery commissioned by the Opera House in 2002.

In addition to the exhibition at the Museum of Sydney, posters and photographs from 1973 and the early 2000s that reflect the extraordinary variety of local and international productions staged at the Opera House will be on display in the Opera House’s Bennelong Passage and Box Office Lounge.

Image credit: Daniel Boud; Curtain of the Sun, artistic work by John Coburn © The Coburn Estate; Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales, PXA 590 (v.13), npA25J41; and Max Dupain