Damien Rice

12 – 13 May 2023

In the Concert Hall

Contemporary Music

Legendary Irish troubadour Damien Rice returns to Australia for his highly-anticipated Sydney Opera House debut, a night of classic songs, wry banter and emotional power in the Concert Hall.

The return of a folk rock legend

Damien Rice is back in a big way. The beloved Irish singer-songwriter, whose emotionally wrought songs defined a generation of 21st-century heartache, is riding high on a sold-out international comeback tour, and he’s set to return to Australia for his long-awaited Sydney Opera House debut in the Concert Hall.

Rocketing to stardom on the strength of his 2002 debut O, and its enduring favourites “The Blower’s Daughter,” “Volcano” and “Cannonball,” the Dublin-born multi-instrumentalist collected the Shortlist Music Prize and quickly earned a reputation for his powerful live shows – tough and tender performances that saw him develop an intimate rapport with fans. Rice’s follow-up, 2006’s 9, yielded the global smash “9 Crimes,” while his self-imposed absence following 2014’s My Favourite Faded Fantasy – his most recent album to date – only added to the anticipation among fans for his return.

As his recent performances in the UK attest, Rice has lost none of his cathartic power or stage presence. If anything, his combination of raw melodrama and masterful dynamics has grown more accomplished, sprinkled with a newfound sense of personal zen and laced, as ever, with Rice’s wonderfully self-deprecating sense of humour. He has been missed. 

Sydney Opera House Presents

Other information

Venue information

Our foyers will be open 90 minutes pre-show for Concert Hall and Joan Sutherland Theatre performances, and two hours pre-show for Western Foyer venue performances. Refreshments will be available for purchase from our theatre bars.

All Sydney Opera House foyers are pram accessible, with lifts to the main and western foyers. The public lift to all foyers is accessible from the corridor near the escalators on the Lower Concourse and also in the Western Foyer via the corridor on the Ground Level (at the top of the escalators). Pram parking will be available outside the theatres in the Western Foyer.

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