Backstage at the Opera House

Everyone should visit the Opera House at 7am. It is a sight to behold. And to have the chance to peep behind its curtains and discover what it’s like backstage – and onstage – is a real treat.

The backstage tour starts at 7am, because obviously the Opera House is a living, breathing hive of activity and any later us tourists would be getting in everyone’s way. If you get there a little earlier you might catch the sunrise, which was well worth getting out of bed for on the day of our tour.

Our lovely tour guide, Molly, began by bringing us onto the fly tower of the Drama Theatre. To be up amongst the lights and wires and pulleys was a great start to the tour and really set the tone for the rest of the morning: you will see the Opera House from angles you never even considered.

We moved through the five different venues over the course of two hours, learning about the architecture but also personalized history of the theatres – the superstitious kissing wall, the life expectancy of the piano in the dressing room, the boxes and boxes of ballet shoes.

With Swan Lake running at the moment, a lot of what we got to see involved tutus and feathers, and the tour will change as the shows change. I would happily go on it again in a few months time and see behind the scenes of other productions – it felt like a tour that you could do again and again.

A real highlight was walking out in the dark onto the stage where Swan Lake is currently showing. When the lights came up it was magical. We got to pose as if we were all famous – a great suggestion by tour guide Molly. Looking out onto all those seats gives you goose bumps, as I’m sure watching the show would too for those of you who are lucky enough to have a ticket

The tour ends back where we started, The Greenroom, and by 9am there are plenty of people having breakfast meetings or catching up on some sleep. Breakfast is part of the tour, and the options we had selected before we set off were brought down to our table. The food was as delicious as you would expect from a world renowned venue.

The tour is now being offered through Viator – a global giant in the tours and activities world – which has recently expanded its offering of tours and activities throughout Australia and New Zealand. To check it out, the link is below