Long before the famous

Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th-century architec ...

Bennelong Point Bennelong Point, a former island in Sydney Harbour, is a headland that, since the 1970s is the location of the Sydney Opera House in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. History Bennelong Point is known to the local Gadigal people of the Eora ...

, the city of

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, Australia, had several entertainment venues described as "

opera house An opera house is a theatre building used for performances of opera. It usually includes a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, and backstage facilities for costumes and building sets. While some venues are constructed specifically for o ...

s".

Sydney Opera House (1879–1900)

Built in 1879 on land owned by I. J. Josephson and opened as Kelly and Leon's Opera House for the New York minstrel company of that name, it was situated on King Street near the

York Street York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a m ...

intersection; a number of smaller buildings at the corner of

Pitt Street Pitt Street is a major street in the Sydney central business district in New South Wales, Australia. The street runs through the entire city centre from Circular Quay in the north to Waterloo, although today's street is in two disjointed sec ...

and York Street being demolished to make way for the grand building. The architects were Backhouse & Sons. When Kelly and Leon's lease expired their name was dropped and the venue was advertised for lease. It reopened as "Sydney Opera House" in September 1880 and for much of the 1880s was under the management of

W. J. Wilson William John Wilson (24 December 1833 – 21 June 1909) was a British actor and theatre scenery painter, who had a career in Australia that included theatre management. History Wilson was born in London to an artistic family with Scottish roots. ...

(father of

Frank Hawthorne Frank Christopher Hawthorne (born 8 January 1946 in Bristol, England) is a Canadian mineralogist, crystallographer and spectroscopist. He works at the University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, and is currently Distinguished Profess ...

), who was joined by Eduardo Majeroni in 1884. In February 1900 the orchestra struck for payment of arrears in wage payments and rather than concede, the management closed the theatre. By this time owned by Percy Josephson, it became a warehouse for W. and A. McArthur, Ltd. and was demolished in 1927. Some successes were: *''The Doctor of Alcantara'', played by Kelly and Leon 1879–1880 *''The Guv'nor'' and ''Chawles'' played by Fred Marshall's Comedy Company. *''Boccaccio'' played by Emilie Melville's Opera Company *''Il Trovatore'' and ''Mignon'' played by The Montague Turner Company. *''Patience'' played by the Royal Comic Opera Co. *''The Strategist'' and ''The Candidate'' played by the Polks *''Manola'', ''Les Manteaux Noirs'', and ''The King's Dragoons'' played by the Dunning Opera Co. *''Diplomacy'', ''The Woman in White'', and ''The Squire'' played by

Wybert Reeve Wybert Reeve (c. 1831 – 21 November 1906) was an English actor and impresario, important in the history of the theatre in South Australia. History Reeve was born in London, the only child of well-to-do parents who died when he was around five ...

in 1883. *''The Country Girl'', ''The Busybody'', and ''The School for Scandal'' played by Marie de Grey in 1884 *''Jo'' and ''The Grasshopper'' played by Jennie Lee * ''Mammon'', ''The Queen's Favorite'', and ''Forget-Me-Not'', played by Genevieve Ward, W. H. Vernon and Roland Watts-Phillips in 1885 *''The Life of an Actress'' George W. Anson *''Jem the Penman'' Harry St. Maur and Agnes Thomas in 1886 *''My Sweetheart'' played by Minnie Palmer *''Ingomar'' and ''Romeo and Juliet'' played by

Essie Jenyns Essie Jenyns (5 October 1864 – 6 August 1920) was an Australian actress best known for her Shakespearean roles. Birth and early life Elizabeth Esther Ellen Jennings was born in Brisbane, Brisbane, Queensland in 1864. Her father, Charles Rober ...

*''Hide and Seek" played by

Walter Craven Walter may refer to: People * Walter (name), both a surname and a given name * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–1968) * Gunther (wrestler), Austrian professional wrestler and trainer Walter Hahn (born 19 ...

in 1887 *''Fedora'' and ''Marie Antoinette'' played by The Majeronis ''Fayette'', a new opera due to open on 17 February 1900, never opened.

Notes and references

{{coord missing, New South Wales Music venues in Sydney Concert halls in Australia Opera houses in Australia Former theatres in Sydney Music venues completed in 1879 Theatres completed in 1879 1879 establishments in Australia 1900 disestablishments in Australia Buildings and structures demolished in 1927