Transcendence Signed Copy - Peter Gilmore

Peter Gilmore is the executive chef at Bennelong at the Sydney Opera House and Quay Restaurant across the harbour in The Rocks. He is one of Australia’s most awarded chefs, having been awarded Three Chefs Hats for an unprecedented nineteen consecutive years and named Restaurant of the Year six times in The Sydney Morning Herald’s Good Food Guide. Quay was listed for five years on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list and held the title of Best Restaurant in Australasia for three of those years. Here he tells the story of the opening night of Bennelong restaurant, and the importance of honouring the traditional custodians of the site.

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.