Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour

Unfortunately we were there on a rainy day, but the opera and it’s performers and crew went ahead anyway. Wonderful location and amazing performance. Amazing spot for it. We will be back.

Amazing spectacle, beautiful scenes, stunning backdrop of opera, house and harbor bridge complete with fireworks and speedboat. Excellent artists. Definitely worth seeing.

Wow!!! What a spectacular production of one of Andrew Loyd Webber’s most popular musicals!

The cast is so on point with their performances and vocals! Special mention to Joshua Robson for his spectacular portrayal of the phantom. His voice was powerful enough to fill the open air setting as if it were a small theatre!! Bravo!!

The rest of the cast were also excellent and gave extremely memorable performances. I think at times let down by the sound levels as talking parts were difficult to hear and levels for singing parts were sometimes haphazard.

The orchestra is cleverly hidden away for the performance, but again, this does effect the sound quality ever so much. Still, an excellent effort considering the challenging acoustics of the outdoor setting.

The stage and costumes are sensational and the use of pyrotechnics throughout the show made for moments when the whole audience jumped out of their seats!

If you are booking seats and don’t want to pay for the premium middle sections then go for the right (east) side of the grandstand as this gives you the best view of the magnificent sweeping staircase where most of the action takes place.

If you have a delicate posterior then my tip of the day is to bring along your own cushion as the hard plastic seats are difficult to stay comfortable for the whole performance.

If you are driving to the show then take advantage of the discounted parking at the Wilsons Domain car park and get the free courtesy bus that runs you right to the entrance of the venue.

If you get a clear night with no rain like we did you are in for a once in a lifetime experience!! Enjoy 😊

The show was magical, set with the opera house in the background and the stars above along with a glass of wine and a cheese platter what more could anyone want. The manager deserved a very special mention he came and welcomed everyone in a wheelchair and explained where things were and if we wanted to go downstairs he would make the service lift available.
It’s a shame some of the audience were so disrespectful turning up late and then stood there talking whilst waiting for a break to be seated.

we just saw phantom of the opera tonight - survived the rain and the wind, and the performance was just amazing!! i’ve seen this production at least a 1/2 dozen times over the last 30+ years - first in melbourne in 1989 - and this topped them all. the performances and also being in an outdoor setting, just moved this to a new level. i’ve seen so many musicals over the years but this one by opera australia left us with goosebumps. highly recommended if you are able to find any tickets - i think they’ve been sold out for ages but keep an eye out, will be the best night out ever!
on another note, the facilities & food outlets there also deserve a 5 star rating. the qantas garden bar caters for vegans, vegetarians & also celiacs. we had an amazing vegan mushroom truffle pizza on GF base combined with a beautiful vodka passion fruit cocktail & tempus two pino gris.. but that’s for another review :)

Karen and Moz we love the Sydney Opera on the harbour! We’ve been three times! Arrive early enjoy the luscious aromatic gardens and the gorgeous orange sunset over Sydney Harbour Bridge! Dinner was better than expected and fast service too. Wine and dessert created a exciting romantic dinner show experience we will always cherish! Highly recommended 10/10

Amazing show, beautiful setting, awesome fireworks. Seeing West Side Story here on closing night was excellent. Congratulations to the cast and crew on a great job.
It's a cool venue to watch a show, the city makes a good backdrop. Check the weather before the show and bring a jacket, the sea breeze can be a little chilly. Public transport is also the best idea as 3000 people leaving at once really clogs the road.

Fabulous experience, never been to the opera outdoors before, the stage, props and backdrop were spectacular! Beautiful night, brilliant performance, especially the female lead, unbeatable atmosphere, Sydney Harbour shone!!

Beautiful night out, the back drop of Sydney Harbour at night is an amazing setting for an opera. Good food and drink choices with prices being what you'd expect from a venue floating in Sydney Harbour, so not cheap but not too bad. The shows are fantastic, just try and pick a night where rain is unlikely. The show goes on whether you're wet or not so that's nice and they sell ponchos at the venue. Public transport options are available and taxis and ubers know where to go.

Absolutely amazing location!!
A little bit hard to get to, but just make sure to be there a little earlier.
Water taxi, uber, walking through the Botanical garden!
It was a little bit difficult, cause the botanical garden had opening hours, so in the evening many gates were locked and you couldn’t walk through it, as I’ve planned initially.
Many walk arounds later, finally got to the place, but was worth it!

It’s decent experience to watch the outdoor opera. There are quite few dining spots for pre-theatre dinner or interval snack. March show will give more brightness before show starts.

A night to remember, millions of people do not get to embrace true love in this life. As its heart to find. Keep it is another, test of true polarity, pain and jealousy awaits at other end. Ive seen it drives even the strongest to its knee, once broke. Like someone asked, is it love? to know it but you can't have it?...

To say that Handa’s version of Phantom of the Opera was both breathtaking & mesmerising, would be doing the production a disservice. It was nothing short of spectacular.

How can you improve on one of the most successful musicals of all time? Set it outdoors on one of the most beautiful harbour’s in the world. With the twinkling lights of Sydney’s skyline and harbour bridge, and the illuminated sails of the opera house standing sentry, it’s an experience i promise you will never forget. The sets were clever, costumes, spectacular and the performers literally moved me from goose bumps to tears. They were undeterred by the squalls that rolled through, and the movement of their costumes in the breeze only added to the magic of their performances. It was a truly wondrous experience i am sure I will never forget.

The food and drinks on offer were even a as step up from the norm and I was pleasantly surprised that there were actually gluten free and vegan/plant based options on offer (even though rather disappointingly they had run out gluten free pizza bases). i managed to find a plant based gf mezze plate and I heard that one of the other bars had plant based burgers on offer. I’m so used to not being able to eat when I attend shows, so I was pleasantly surprised.

Only down side to the night were the queues for the loo’s—so be warned! All in all, a pretty fabulous evening!

It's a great experience in a beautiful setting. Choosing seats two-thirds of the way back towards the centre gives a marvellous view of the city and harbour behind the stage.

Fantastic place for a performance overlooking the Opera House and Sydney Bridge. We loved it. Relaxed atmosphere and friendly staff. The show was great and a unique set with the stage on the water! Not to be missed.

Amazing way to experience Phantom of the Opera with the beautiful backdrop of Sydney city, though be warned as the show goes on, even in the rain, luckily for me the rain stopped just before the show started.

Never attended an opera before and this was an epic first experience, a little pricey with food and wine and I wish they wouldn’t hire backpackers that don’t know what they are providing before the food/wine bar.
Overall, a great venue to attend to with panoramic views of Sydney City landscape in the Summer.

Great outdoor performance at all times. Big stage with sky is the limit. Never know opera can be as excited like these... 🎇🎆

Such a beautiful time and an amazing Opera on the harbour. We wanted to see a show inside the Opera House but this was just as amazing! A must see if you are in Sydney during this time!

Had a wonderful evening watching West Side story the musical was spectacular. The acting the singing the dance were on point. Have the views of Sydney made the event magical. The fireworks were disappointing and the wind made it uncomfortable. We had a three course meal before hand which was excellent, the service was great and the food was outstanding. A great night out.