SCENE 4: THE ANNOUNCEMENT
1957
At the art gallery, society matrons mingle with the politicians, the art lovers, the music lovers, the freeloaders and the press.
FOUR SOCIALITES
Darlings how exciting
We'll show them at la Scala
The divas will be fighting
To sing on Sydney Harbour
MUSIC LOVER, ART LOVER 1, ART LOVER 2
How exciting!
How exciting!
An opera house for Sydney:
The tenors all competing
For the honour of repeating
Their Royal Opera House success!
CHORUS
At last we’ll hum along to opera
Opera yes opera yes opera etc.
MUSIC LOVER, ART LOVER 1, ART LOVER 2
How exciting!
How exciting!
An opera house for Sydney
The tenors all competing
For the honour of repeating
Their Royal Opera House success
FOUR SOCIALITES
Who'd have guessed
Who'd have guessed
So far from Europe
Who'd have guessed!
By water
Just like Venice
We’ll arrive to see the
Renaissance
Of high art
With a dash of Aussie zest!
CHORUS
How does that tune go?
Opera.
World class opera!
This city comes of age
When we have our home-grown opera
On a true Wagnerian stage.
The Premier enters pursued by the press.
REPORTER
Mr Premier!
Mr Premier,
Please answer the question.
PREMIER
Yes, it was Sir Eugene
Who first put it to me
That an opera house be built
On Bennelong Point...
REPORTER
Then why....
PREMIER
Let me finish!
But my ears were far from deaf:
Ten thousand miles from Europe
Though we be
We are most certainly
Not culturally bereft.
Great artists have no qualms
About visiting these shores:
We welcome them with open arms...
REPORTER
Then shunt them out the back door
Like Sir Eugene, Mr. Premier?
Everyone turns around.
PREMIER
It was...
Unfortunate
Sir Eugene had to leave us last year in such...
Difficult...
Circumstances,
But let's not dwell on the past!
This is 1957
In three years you’ll have your opera house
Write about that!
He is handed an envelope by the chief juror and
addresses the gathering.
Ladies and gentlemen
He waves the envelope in the air.
Two hundred and thirty three of the world's best architects
Have thrown their hats in the ring,
And the name in here
Will leave its mark on a city
Destined for greatness.
Our panel of distinguished jurors
Has chosen...
He has trouble opening the envelope.
Has chosen...
He tears the envelope open.
The “chosen one” is the Danish Architect.
The Architect from Denmark.
There is polite applause as the juror prepares to reveal the plans.
Chief Juror...
JUROR
Thank you, Mr Premier.
Given the beauty,
The exceptional beauty
Of the site,
Of the harbour;
The shape,
The silhouette
Had to be right.
A large building,
A massive building,
However practical,
Would be quite inappropriate
And so....
The design is revealed. Audience all gasp. Reaction is divided,though more negative than positive.
As you can see
The drawings are simple;
Simple to the point of being diagrammatic.
MUSIC LOVER
It’s a monstrosity!
SOCIALITE 1
A monstrosity!
SOCIALITE 2
It's quite daring...
JUROR
But we are convinced...
SOCIALITE 3
It's a monstrosity!
JUROR
They present a concept of an opera house....
SOCIALITE 4
It's quite darling!
JUROR
...That is capable of taking its place
Among the great buildings of the world.
ART LOVER 2
A monstrosity
M.P.'S WIFE
It shows imagination though.
M.P.
If you like that sort of thing
SOCIALITE 3
(With horror)
It reminds me of something
Crawling up out of the ocean!
JUROR
Because of its very originality
It is clearly a controversial design.
ART LOVER 1
A disintegrating circus tent!
Laughter
MAESTRO
Congratulations Mr Premier
This is a true building for music
PREMIER
To the Maestro
And apparently
It's the cheapest to build.
ART LOVER 2
Insane and farcical.
CHORUS
A monstrosity
ART LOVER 1
And it's in the wrong place!
ONLOOKER
That's a heck of a lot of cement...
CHORUS
A monstrosity
M.P. 2
What a sin!
Put a hotel there
And you’d get the American tourists in.
SOCIALITE 1
What's so original my dears?
CHORUS
It’s monstrous
SOCIALITE 1
On Anzac Parade...
CHORUS
It’s Monstrous
SOCIALITE 1
...A lawn mower shop
Has displayed the same vulgar taste
For years and years!
CHORUS
It reminds me of
Copulating turtles,
Overdressed Aunt Myrtles.
What was that he said?
It’s like an unmade bed.
All we needed was a box
To put on shows
And show off frocks
Was that too much to ask?
Was there no Australian
Equal to the task?
ART LOVER 2
An armadillo in concrete.
ART LOVER 1
A launch pad for missiles.
SOCIALITE 2 & 3, M.P.’S WIFE
A dinosaur complete
With vertebral scales!
MUSIC LOVER
French nuns in force...
SOCIALITE 1
Mushrooms trodden by a horse...
ONLOOKER
Why don’t they put it in a park?
M.P., M.P.’S WIFE, SOCIALITE 3
It’ll only look good in the dark!
CHORUS
Millions of pounds down the drain.
This architect is clearly insane!
God save us from the Dane!
ALEXANDRA
Oh Stephen, Stephen
Is it possible?
Imagine singing there...
Oh Stephen,
Imagine that
STEPHEN
Everything is possible for us here.
We’ll be happy here,
You and me.
ALEXANDRA
My dream come true...
STEPHEN
Our dream, our dream.
ALEXANDRA
There's a change in the air
Can you feel it?
Only a moment ago
I had feelings I couldn't name.
Dreams buried too deep to be shared.
But now,
I feel the beginning of...
What?
The future?
My future?
The dream awakens sleeping hopes
Ambitious dreams of nights of glory
The songs I'll sing
The roles I'll play
The part I'll take in opera's story.
The dream awakens sweet desire
I'll dedicate myself to singing
No sacrifice
Will be too great
I've seen what's possible with dreaming.
The dream I have is mine alone
The road I'll take is mine to follow
And though the steps be long and hard
I'll climb them all through joy and sorrow!
Another's dream has woken mine,
Another's vision spoken to me.
No sacrifice
Will be too great
To realise the dream within me.
And my song
Will soar
Into the sky;
My voice
Will reach
Up to the stars.
Reaching,
Rising,
Floating free.
Floating to the sky.
There's a change in the air
Can you feel it?