Imagine Spain popping up next to Sydney’s Royal Botanic Gardens.The idea is not as fanciful as it may sound: this week, after a year of scrupulous planning, Spain will pop up near Mrs Macquaries Chair, in time for the opening of Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour Carmen.
Those who enter the event site will suddenly find themselves in a street in Seville, with quaint bars and picturesque eateries vying for their attention. “It’s a very different look from last year’s La Traviata [which won 2012 Event of the Year and four Helpmann awards],” says Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour executive producer Louisa Robertson, adding mysteriously that, “There will be quite a few surprises”.
To add to the thrill, the Royal Botanic Gardens are, of course, in Sydney, which means that Spain is popping up on the edge of one of the most beautiful harbours on earth.
So, as you sip your Sangria and feast on Spanish delicacies, you will be watching ferries and boats sail past and as the sun sets over the Opera House and the first notes of Bizet’s Carmenrings out over the water, you will find yourself transported to a world of rousing music and spectacular theatre.
Site Designer Eamon D’Arcy, whose brief was to create an event distinctly Spanish in flavour, says the idea is for audience members to feel that they are part of something extraordinary. “Our aim is to make people go, ‘Ah this is fantastic!’” he says.
Hauling out his design file in the Sydney Opera Centre's Joan Sutherland Studio, where we meet in the run-up to Carmen opening night, D’Arcy, who trained as a stage designer at NIDA before working in theatre and commercial design, flicks through the imagery that informed his vision: the red and yellow of the Spanish flag; canopies, Moorish-looking blackboard menus, matadors, pergolas, roses…which have all found their way into the final design.
In tune with the celebratory atmosphere of the night, the site is being lit by hundreds of metres of festoon lighting. Robertson says: “It’s going to be very pretty, a total immersion-type experience.”
Audience members who watched last year’s chorus arriving in brightly lit water taxis, wishing that they too could step into those fairytale boats and sail away over the harbour, will be happy to know that this year the privilege is being extended to all. Aussie Water Taxis will run a shuttle service from 4.30pm until 7.30pm picking up from the Commissioner Steps Wharf at Circular Quay, directly in front of the MCA, and Man O’ War Jetty, on the eastern side of the Sydney Opera House near the entrance to the Royal Botanic Garden. It will recommence at 10:15pm until 11pm departing from the The Andrew (Boy) Charlton Pool wharf and dropping off at the Commissioner Steps Wharf and Man O’War Jetty. From these two drop off and pick up points the water taxi fare is $10 each way and bookings are not required. Alternatively, you can make a booking for other locations by contacting Aussie Water Taxis directly on 9211-7730.
To make the most of the experience, Robertson recommends that audience members arrive at around 5pm. “The Northern Terrace, with its breathtaking views of the harbour, fills up particularly quickly,” she saysFood is a big part of the experience, and this year a much wider variety of formal and informal dining options are available, all Spanish in flavour. To see what’s on offer, check the Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour website. http://www.operaonsydneyharbour.com.au/visitorsinfo/getting-there
Last year, balmy weather reigned for most of the production run, but Robertson advises audience members to come dressed for all occasions. A wrap or blanket and a raincoat are always a good idea.
The thing to remember though, is that some bars and eateries will stay open from the end of the performance at 10.15pm until midnight. As Robertson says: “Why wait in a taxi queue when you could be enjoying that amazing view and sipping on a Champagne?”
Why indeed.