Want Sydney Opera House tickets? Here’s information, seating plans, how to buy in person, online, last minute and new years eve concerts.
Don’t settle for just looking at the outside.
Experience the real magic of the Opera House by being part of the audience, experiencing Sydney Harbour by night during the intervals and then coming out into the city and harbour lights at the end of the performance.
It lifts the heart. There’s nothing like it anywhere else in the world.
What’s On Sydney
You can find out what’s on at the opera house
- online at What’s On, Sydney Opera House
- at the Sydney Opera House box office or information desk, and
- in the entertainment pages of the Sydney Herald,
Sydney Opera House Information
Sydney’s Opera House has five performance spaces: the Concert Hall and the Opera Theatre in the shells; and the Drama Theatre, Playhouse and Studio in the upper podium, below the Concert Hall.
Seating 2679, the Concert Hall is the largest performance space. The Joan Sutherland Theatre is significantly smaller, with 1507 seats. These are the two usual venues to listen to classical music.
The Utzon Room is also sometimes used for intimate concerts.
The room is the result of a late collaboration with Joern Utzon, the Sydney Opera House architect.
He was persuaded to assist with establishing new design rules for revamping the interiors and this is the only internal area done to his specifications.
The wall tapestry was woven to his design.
More Opera House facts.
Sydney Opera House Tickets Online
It’s easy to buy Sydney Opera House tickets online.
For some, but not all, performances you will be able to choose your preferred seat. Or let the system allocate the best available seats at whatever price point you nominate. This works very well.
Tickets can be sent to your address or held at the box office for collection.
Make sure you leave yourself enough time to pick them up before the performance. Sometimes there’s a bit of a queue.
Concert Tickets Sales – Box Office
Booking in Person
The opera house Sydney box office is open from 0900 to 2030 (9.00am to 8.30pm) Monday to Saturday, AEST (UTC+10) for over the counter bookings.
Go to the Box Office Foyer, on Level 1, to book in person. Cash, debit or creditcard accepted.
Booking by Phone
Phone bookings (payment by credit card) can be made Monday to Saturday during box office hours on (+61)(02) 9250 7777
Phone bookings can also be made on Sundays, from 1000 to 1800 (10am to 6pm) AEST.
For general information ring (+61)(02) 9250 7111.
Other Booking Methods
Email enquiries or bookings to bookings@sydneyoperahouse.com
Or you can fax the box office on (+61)(02) 9251 3843.
As a last resort there’s snail mail.
Mail: Box Office
Sydney Opera House
GPO Box R239
Royal Exchange
Sydney NSW 1225
Australia
Booking Fees
Booking fees are AUD$5.00 for over the counter bookings and AUD$8.50 for phone, internet and email bookings.
Seating Charts
If you go to the box office yourself, you will be shown a seating chart with the best available tickets. If you plan to book over the phone, then download the seating charts below so that you can immediately see where the proposed seats are.
You can download a pdf file of the seating plan for the concert hall here.
And here is the seating plan for the Joan Sutherland Theatre.
Last Minute Concert Tickets
So, here you are in Sydney and you want to see something at the opera house tonight.
Well relax. There’s every chance that you’ll be able to get last minute Sydney Opera House tickets.
For every performance at the opera house some tickets in each price category are released on the day.
Ticket sales commence with the opening of the box office at 0900 (9am). A small queue usually forms a little beforehand.
Tickets released on the day sell at full face value. There’s no price advantage to waiting until the last minute to buy them.
If you want the cheaper seats then you’re best to be in the queue. They go first.
But only very few concerts sell out completely right at the start so you’ll generally be able to pick up some sort of a ticket as the day goes on, especially in the premium or A reserve categories.
Student rush tickets are available to full time students at many performances in the opera house. Sydney Symphony concerts, Australian Opera performances and some solo and chamber orchestra concerts offer the cheapest concert tickets posssible from half an hour before the performance. You can luck into excellent premium reserve seats for a very small amount here. They’re the best bargain in Sydney.
New Year’s Eve Concerts
If you want to listen to classical music on New Year’s Eve in Sydney Australia, then there’s really only one show in town: New Years Eve at the Sydney Opera House
Opera Australia stages the annual Opera House Sydney New Year’s Eve Gala.
It will feed, amaze and entertain you out of the old and into the new year.
Pre-dinner drinks start at 1730 (5.30pm).
After dinner there’s the Gala Concert. Then the Midnight Party takes over till 0200 (2am).
It’s a fun night of music, food, wine with a grandstand view of the fireworks.
As you’d expect, these Sydney Opera House tickets don’t come cheap.
If you want the lot, in the premium package with the best seats, you won’t have much change from AUD$1,000 per person.
You don’t have to opt for it all, of course. You can choose just the concert and midnight party, with less expensive seats. Leave a bit of change.
Sydney Harbour Opera
If you fancy open air opera on a floating stage in Sydney Harbour then time your visit for late March, early April. After watching the sun set over Sydney Harbour (totally fantastic) you can have a fabulous night under the stars with a blockbuster spectacle. Just avoid a rainy night!
All the details are here.
And here’s how to get the cheapest concert tickets at the Sydney Opera House.