Humans have access to eight different types of awe – that's the word from Dacher Joseph Keltner, Professor of Psychology at the University of California and leading academic on the topic of emotion. Last night, among a crowd of 2,000 people in the stalls of the Sydney Opera House’s historic Concert Hall, I can lay claim to experiencing at least three.
The music (composed and performed by songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Devonté Hynes with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra), architecture and collective effervescence stunned my cells into the kind of awe-struck state that I’ve spent hours stargazing just to feel for a second. And although the show is over, and the next time Dev will be gracing a stage in the Emerald City is yet to be announced, it feels like an experience worth sharing – because this isn't the only Vivid Live show taking place as part of Vivid Sydney 2024. (For our guide to the best gigs on for Vivid, head over here.)
Designed to mimic the Mayan temples of pre-classic times – with its slowly ascending steps and towering form creating an inescapable sense of scale – the building alone is infinitely extraordinary. It’s impossible to find yourself inside the Opera House without being struck by its magnificence: its confidently singular aesthetic. And although the beauty of this building hits me every time – on morning ferry rides across the harbour when its sloping windows reflect back the amber sunrise, and crisp April afternoons when the weak autumn light wraps its milky silhouette in a buttery glow – I’ve never seen it looking more spectacular than during this year’s Vivid, with the work of Julia Gutman playing whimsically across its sails.
The carnival-like atmosphere of Sydney’s sparkly season was a beautifully-contrasting precursor to the deep calm that settled over the Concert Hall as Hynes sat down at a grand piano in the centre of the stage. Comprising a range of piano pieces (my personal favourite being a divine duet of The Long Ride II) and textural orchestral pieces performed by the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, the two-hour show seemed to evaporate in a melodic blur – a portal of stillness within the freneticly glittering city.
After the show, we walked to the harbour's edge and watched the explosively colourful work of Tori-Jay light up the Harbour Bridge. In a week that has seen so much tragedy unfolding across the world, we couldn’t help but reflect on what it means to live in Sydney. How impossibly lucky we are to be in a city that literally lights up every year just as winter sets in – where the primal pleasure of collective effervescence is all around us.
And although last night’s collaboration between Devonté Hynes and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra was a one-off show, Sydney Opera House is playing host to an incredible line-up of live performances as part of Sydney Vivid 2024. Vivid Live is well underway, with a series of carefully curated performances from some of the world’s leading musicians taking place until the closing night of Vivid on Saturday, June 15. You can learn more and book tickets over here.
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