Transcendence Signed Copy - Frances Rings

Frances Rings became artistic director of Bangarra Dance Theatre in 2023, having been associate artistic director since 2019. She has received multiple awards for her work, including six Helpmann Awards, a Deadly Award, an Australian Dance Award and a Green Room Award.  Here she shares a powerful story about connection and belonging from Sydney's Olympic Arts Festival in 2000.

To celebrate five decades of live performance, 50 artists share their indelible memories of the Sydney Opera House.

The Sydney Opera House’s illustrious 50-year history is celebrated through fifty recollections of unforgettable experiences and performances.

A singer overwhelmed by his crowd. A dancer on ice above sea. A teenage girl, later to become a virtuoso conductor, jolted by the sound of a symphony.

Two filmmakers exchange vows on their opera set. A photographer hears a Cistercian echo in the sails. And one night, after a Verdi curtain call, an audience member who looks a lot like Bob Dylan receives a private singing lesson in a theatre named after Australia’s greatest opera star.

For fifty years, the Sydney Opera House has elevated the spirits of all who enter its orbit.

Here, fifty artists – from Simone Young to Nick Cave, Sylvie Guillem to Briggs, Baz Luhrmann to Carlotta – share their most indelible memories from a building that embodies the Australian contemporary experience.