Long before the famous

Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue Performing arts center, performing arts centre in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive b ...

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 States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, Australia, had several entertainment venues described as "

opera house An opera house is a theater building used for performances of opera. Like many theaters, it usually includes a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, backstage facilities for costumes and building sets, as well as offices for the institut ...

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 drag performers Edwin Kelly and Francis Leon, it was situated on King Street near the

York Street York Street, also known as the Jakemans Stadium for sponsorship purposes, is a football stadium in Boston, England, and was the former home of Boston United. Originally called Shodfriars Lane, football was first played on the site since the la ...

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 sect ...

and York Street being demolished to make way for the grand building. The architects were Backhouse & Sons. When Kelly and Leon's lease expired in 1880, 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, who was joined by

Eduardo Majeroni Eduardo Majeroni (1840 – 20 October 1891) was an actor who toured the world with Adelaide Ristori, playing popular Italian dramas in their original language. He and his wife Giulia, a niece of Ristori, left the company in Australia and carved ou ...

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. Construction on the Grace Building started at the site in 1928. 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 ''Mignon'' () is an 1866 ''opéra comique'' (or opera in its second version) in three acts by Ambroise Thomas. The original French libretto was by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré, based on Goethe's 1795-96 novel '' Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre''. ...

'' 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 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 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

{{Reflist Music venues in Sydney Concert halls 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