The Opera House
Last night was a classical evening. Sue and I went to the Opera House for a performance of work by Rachmaninov, conducted by Vladamir Ashkenazy (who is quite famous apparently!). It was a varied performance, with choral works, a piano concerto (No. 1) and a symphony with soloists. The pianist (Alexey Yemtsov) was the highlight with an amazing performance without any music.

We were sitting right up near the back of the concert hall, taking the 'safe' option for seats that were available and must have been near to where we were sitting last time we were here - almost 13 years ago to the day. It was almost a full house but every seating area appears to have a good view, so we'll try another location next time to see what the other views are like!

Of course, the other highlight for an evening here is to have a drink beforehand, or in the interval, on the balcony overlooking the harbour, or to catch the ferry back after the performance. It was a warm evening and we sat on the back of the ferry watching the lit-up city recede into the distance. The bridge is starting to show signs of preparations for NYE, plus there was a stage going up on the forecourt of the Opera House for the final of 'Australian Idol' on Sunday night.