The Joan Sutherland Performing Arts Centre, affectionately known as "the Joan", is the major performing stage in the Western suburbs of Sydney (around Penrith). It isn't a place that tends to attract that many of the main Sydney performing groups.. which is a little strange, seeing as the CBD isn't that far away... but I think there is a touch of the Opera House snobbery thing going on.
Still, there are quite a few of the more interesting chamber ensembles and popular/jazz groups that do come to Penrith... ones that do the real outreach into areas where classical music isn't considered to be "a fit" for the local community... as dreamed up by some marketing whizz somewhere with vastly overgeneralised notions.
My wife used to teach in this arts centre when we were studying and living in Sydney about two decades ago. I never came out to visit her here, but now that I have set foot in the building... wow, it isn't quite what I had expected! Colourful and vibrant... with lots of space and a nice large food hall just next door! I would definitely rate this space much higher than the dark confines of the areas that surround the inner city venues.
So, I'm not sure if there is a real connection between Joan Sutherland and the Penrith area? I haven't done my research on that... Joan Sutherland was a world class coloratura soprano... one of the first Australians to make it big on the European and world stages... along with her husband, Richard Bonynge ... an orchestral conductor.
Sadly, that is about the limit of my knowledge... classical opera is really not my thing. For me, it is the epitome of everything that I dislike about the path of Classical Music. Overblown, terrible music, terrible modern music techniques, divas, music for the elites... all of that sort of thing.
The stage is a little bit on the small size... I was touring with a smaller period instrument orchestra, and even that size was starting to be quite a squeeze to fit on the bus. Otherwise, it seems like it would be a great fit and acoustic for a smaller chamber ensemble.
Seating is tiered... which is perfect for an audience. No-one likes being unable to see when there are taller people in front of you! Sadly, the side seats in the gallery aren't facing towards the stage... which will give the people up there a crick in the neck!
... ah, the superstar diva herself! This entire place is quite devoted to this potentially local heroine. I know she did hail from Sydney, but Sydney is a sort of big place... and I do wonder why a predominately working class, immigrant area would have such an adulation for her?
... ah yes, did I mention that there was quite a bit of fondness for the soprano?