The most-watched videos from the Sydney Opera House in 2019
We dusted off the abacus and crunched the numbers: these are the videos that you had on loop this year, across Facebook and YouTube.
6. Lighting of the Sails 2019 | "Austral Flora Ballet" by Andrew Thomas Huang
The #VividLIVE Lighting of the Sails is a reliable hit with audiences, and 2019 was no different. The Sydney Opera House transformed into a large-scale canvas for Vivid, featuring Andrew Thomas Huang's gorgeous new work "Austral Flora Ballet", which included dancer Genna Moroni recreating the movement of native flora.
5. Bon Iver - “Beth/Rest”
Justin Vernon aka Bon Iver is a regular at the Opera House. He first played the Concert Hall in 2012, and returned in 2014 for Sounds of the South, a live interpretation of southern black folk music. For Vivid LIVE in 2016 he debuted the CERCLE performances over a four-night residency. Read about the process and watch recordings from the concerts.
4. Jónsi & Alex Somers - Riceboy Sleeps
Often the most spectacular shows at #VividLIVE are the ones unique to the festival. Jónsi & Alex Somers' project Riceboy Sleeps had barely performed since their formation but graced Sydney audiences with a 10th anniversary celebration of their self-titled album. As one YouTube commenter put it: "Beautiful and rather spectacular".
3. Solange - “Losing You”
Her headline show at Vivid LIVE last year was described by Time Out as “equal parts party and power”. To relive the moment ahead of Witness! in January, the Opera House unearthed some of its archives to release this recording of one of Solange’s earliest hits, ‘Losing You’.
2. John Butler Trio | Full Set
The impossibly-talented John Butler Trio closed out a night that had already featured solo sets from Missy Higgins and Stella Donnelly. It was a spectacular two hours on the Opera House Forecourt, including all the usual JBT banter, an unrehearsed duet with Higgins and an epic crowd-sung “Zebra” to close out the night.
1. The Cure perform Disintegration | Live Stream
What a moment! The Cure brought new life to their seminal album Disintegration earlier this year at Vivid LIVE, entertaining not just the lucky few who got their hands on Concert Hall tickets, but the whole world via live stream (which clocked over a million views). Relive the night with 4K recordings of Pictures of You, Plainsong and Disintegration.
Honourable Mention:
The Problem With Wokeness | All About Women 2019
Stylist and cultural commentator Ayishat Akanbi challenges the notion that identity is the most fundamental thing we have, causing more difference than decency. This talk was one of the most provocative and interesting of All About Women 2019, and certainly worth a watch.
Honourable Mention:
First Nations dancers fly the Aboriginal flag on Sydney Opera House | Dance Rites 2019
One of the most memorable Opera House moments ever, let alone in 2019. As bushfire smoke enveloped Sydney harbour, Abigail Delaney and Dubs Yunupingu from the Jannawi Dance Clan, from the Darug nation, flew the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island flags atop the Opera House sails. Watch it back, accompanied by Emily Wurramara's apt and beautiful 'Black Smoke'.
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