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Art

Your gift transforms lives through the performing arts

Singing, dancing, playing music, the spoken word – all of us have experienced the power of the arts to inspire, challenge, uplift, and shape who we are.

For more than four decades, the Opera House has showcased the very best of Australian and international classical and contemporary music, dance and theatre, talks and ideas, and Indigenous culture. 

Your gift today helps to make sure that the Opera House can continue to transform lives through the performing arts.

Give now to make your gift towards the performing arts.  

Classical

Bringing world orchestras to Australia

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Music

The world’s great orchestras – Staatskapelle Berlin, Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Berlin Philharmonic, Israel Philharmonic, London Philharmonic, London Symphony, I Musici – and classical artists – Nigel Kennedy, Cameron Carpenter, Steve Reich, Joanna McGregor, Florian Boesch, and many more – have all inspired Australian audiences at their Opera House-presented performances.

Opera

The world's greatest singers – Renée Fleming, Cecilia Bartoli, Bryn Terfel, Lisa Gasteen, Emma Kirkby, Susan Bullock, Susan Graham, Les Arts Florissants, The Sixteen and many more – have thrilled Australian audiences at their Opera House-presented performances.

Make your gift today to help the Opera House continue to present the world's best.

Visual art

Arthur Jafa film at Vivid LIVE

Love is the Message, the Message is Death, is an emotionally charged moving image portrait of contemporary African-American identity. It appears at Vivid LIVE as part of the Hidden Pulse program, in collaboration with M+ on May 30. Read the full interview with Arthur Jafa.

First Nations art on the sails

Badu Gili – meaning ‘water light’ in the language of the traditional owners of Bennelong Point, the Gadigal people – is a new daily spectacular seven-minute projection of First Nations art, illuminating the Opera House’s eastern Bennelong sail year-round at sunset and 7pm.

Curated by the Opera House’s Head of First Nations Programming, Rhoda Roberts AO, Badu Gili weaves together the work of five eminent First Nations artists from across Australia and the Torres Strait Islands, Jenuarrie (Judith Warrie), Frances Belle Parker, Alick Tipoti and the late Lin Onus and Minnie Pwerle.

Make your gift today to present contemporary First Nations art to the nation.

Lighting the Sails at Vivid LIVE

Each year an artist of international renown is commissioned to create an original artwork for projection onto the Sydney Opera House that captures the spirit of the iconic landmark recognised as the cultural epicentre of Australia.

Andrew Thomas Huang’s Austral Flora Ballet is a hypnotic fusion of contemporary dance and motion capture technology that brings our botanic wonders to life as never seen before. Read an interview with the artist.

Make your gift to continue presenting groundbreaking contemporary art.

Contemporary

First Nations

The most exciting First Nations cultural experiences are an essential part of the Opera House. Songlines, which turned the Opera House’ sails into an an animated canvas of contemporary Australian Indigenous art in 2016, was experienced online by more than six million people worldwide. Dance Rite is Australia’s national Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander dance competition, brought into existence through the vision of Opera House donors in 2015. It brings together communities from around Australia to revitalise, celebrate and maintain First Nations culture, dance, language and stories.

Make your gift today to help the Opera House continue to present the world's best.

Children & families

Schools can experience live performances at the Opera House, or via live-stream through our Digital Creative Learning program. Live, interactive, and free to all Australian public schools, this program also offers a unique suite of digital excursions that take students behind-the-scenes at Bennelong Point and extend the live performance program for deeper learning.

Music 

So many great contemporary artists – Laurie Anderson, Mary J Blige, Leonard Cohen, Crowded House, Bob Dylan, Florence + The Machine, Lauryn Hill, Kraftwerk, Nile Rodgers, Prince, Steve Reich, Patti Smith, Sting, Stone Roses, and so many more than can be listed here –  have blown away Australian audiences at their Opera House-presented performances.

Make your gift today to help the Opera House continue to present the world's best.

Performance

The best of contemporary dancers – Akram Khan Dance Company, DV8, Hofesh Schechter Company, Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company, María Pagés, Mark Morris Dance Group, Nederlands Dans Theater, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Sylvie Guillem, TAO Dance Theatre, Hiroaki Umeda, Eva Yerbabuena, and more – have all moved Australian audiences at their Opera House-presented performances.

Make your gift today to help the Opera House continue to present the world's best.

Talks & Ideas

The world’s leading thinkers and cultural creators – Aung San Suu Kyi, Julian Assange , Alain de Botton, Noam Chomsky, Richard Dawkins, Geena Davis, Stephen Fry, Julia Gillard, Elizabeth Gilbert, Stephen Hawking, Paul Keating, Naomi Klein, Nigella Lawson, Jamie Oliver, Yoko Ono, Jennifer Saunders, David Suzuki, Alice Waters, John Waters, Wim Wenders, and hundreds more, have stimulated and provoked Australian audiences at their Opera House-presented appearances.

Make your gift today to help the Opera House continue to present the world's best.

Thank you for your gift.

You play a vital role in treasuring and renewing the Opera House for future generations of artists, audiences and visitors, and ensuring the Opera House is open for everyone, for ever. See our generous donors.