I am back in the USA after two weeks Down Under and have attached some photos from Sydney when I attended the Andre Rieu Concert at Olympic Park.  From Sydney Harbor, it's about 8 kilometers to Olympic Park and the ANZ Stadium which has an open top.  This was noted on my pre-concert recon and fortunately, it did not rain on (11/27) this first Sydney concert when I attended. 

The Sydney Times said that 90,000 people were expected at the Sydney concerts but I have not seen actual attendance numbers.  From Sydney Harbor, it was a pleasant trip up the Paramatta River by RiverCat (catamaran boat) which appropriately went right past the Sydney Opera House (see photo).  As you (Webmaster Sally) suggested, I arrived very early to check out the venue and did see some cast members still in street clothes.  The gold carriage and horses were kept a block from the stadium at the former Olympic stables. 

Before the concert, I purchased a concert program to review the anticipated repertoire which did not list any Australian songs but later found they were nice surprises (encore) for the audience (Aussie! Aussie! Aussie!).   The "On Tour" program also had a lot of great photos including some from past concerts (ex. photos of Suzan's Over the Rainbow and Carla's Die Fledermaus).  Glad I have the program since night-flash-photography has limitations but as I said, there are a few attached. 

The concert started exactly  on time with the JSO marching into stadium to the tune of 76 Trombones.   To the audience's surprise, Andre & JSO came from the right of center aisle and when I turned, I found Linda Custers with Viola standing next to us (see photo).  

Suzan Erens looks much lighter and her hair shorter (photo with Bela).   Even in the immense stadium, the sound was terrific.  Late into the second set, Andre introduced "Empress Sissi" arriving in her gold carriage which was visible on the large screens.  But it wasn't until she started to sing ‘I Belong to Me’ that I recognized her: Suzan Erens.   Then, the "surprise" encore numbers had the Aussies on their feet:  Advance Australia Fair, Tie Me Kangaroo, Waltzing Matilda, etc. 

As always, enjoy the Music!   Cheers, Ed