When the Sydney Opera House was designed and constructed in the ’50s and ’60s, the types of shows performed on its stages in 2020 would have been unimaginable. It was built to cater to orchestras and operas, not The Cure, Nick Cave, Kraftwerk, Prince and Lizzo, who have all played the venue’s largest stage, the Concert Hall. But after American musician Solange Knowles performs at the 2000-seat venue this Friday, the venue’s speakers will fall silent for what’s expected to be a two-year renovation.

The $150 million overhaul has been in the works for at least five years, the Opera House’s head of contemporary music Ben Marshall tells Broadsheet. “The Opera House is obviously a massive global icon,” he says. “But what it’s done over the years has changed. The Concert Hall was built for the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and acoustic music. Now it’s a big home for contemporary music. In 2010 there were 30,000 tickets for contemporary performance shows. Now that number is 120,000. They’re making the building fit for purpose for the 21st century.” It’s the venue’s biggest upgrade since 1973. The acoustics, stage and backstage areas will all be improved, and the space will also become more accessible for those with mobility restrictions. While the hall will remain as visually striking as ever, with its soaring ribbed ceilings, tiered seating and timber box-like stalls, it’ll be better able to compete with other international venues of its type. For a start, the acoustic dispersal has been redesigned to better distribute sound throughout the hall and to performers on stage. The stage itself will be lowered by 400 millimetres to make it more accessible from backstage and to improve the audience’s vision throughout the venue. And a modern sound system will be installed to better cater to contemporary performances.