The Coburn Tapestries at the Sydney Opera House

When the Sydney Opera House opened to the public on 20 October 1973, about eight years had passed since the original architect, Jørn Utzon had withdrawn from the project, following a serious disagreement with the Minister for Public Works, Davis Hughes. In Utzon’s wake, Hall, Todd and Littlemore – a consortium of three Australian architects – was engaged to finish the third and final stage of the building, including its interior spaces and the glass walls that would enclose them. One aspect of the building that had been so important to Utzon was the use of colour in the experience of visiting the Opera House. “The idea was to see a spectacular building as you arrive and as you enter the foyers you see additional colours... As you enter the Minor or Major hall this explodes into a very rich expression of colours, which uplift you in that festive mood, away from daily life, that you expect when you go to the theatre, a play, an opera or a concert.” Whilst Utzon was unable to realise all of his ideas, the spirit of his intentions in the use of colour was captured in Peter Hall’s theatre interiors. This included John Coburn’s majestic tapestries the Curtain of the Sun and the Curtain of the Moon, the original house curtains of the Opera Theatre (now the Joan Sutherland Theatre) and the Drama Theatre, respectively.

Coburn travelled to France to oversee creation of the tapestries by Pinton Frères, the renowned weavers of Aubusson and Felletin. Weaving had been practiced since the fourteenth century in the region, and after World War II the works of artists such as Le Corbusier, Cocteau, Dali, Calder and Picasso had been realised by the talented generations of craftspeople. 

In 1971, the finished tapestries were shipped to Hamburg to be made into functioning stage curtains, and they arrived in Australia in 1972 where they were hung temporarily in the Opera House Recording Studio. In a media statement, Davis Hughes, Minister for Public Works heralded them an “artistic triumph”. Fifteen months later, at the opening of the Opera House, their sheer size, vibrant colours and striking abstract imagery were an undeniable focus of attention.

The tapestries are comprised of a lattice of both warp and weft threads. The warp is made of cotton and runs vertically remaining invisible behind the horizontal weft, which is wool and holds the pattern and colour.

Prior to being woven, the warp for both tapestries was sent to Germany to be fire proofed. Once the tapestries arrived back in Sydney they were again treated with a fire retardant. A 1990s conservation assessment identified that the fire retardants had caused deterioration of the tapestries and there was significant weakening of the threads. Other damage was also observed at this time, including a tear and burn marks from being in a live theatre environment.

In the 1990s the Victorian Tapestry Workshop undertook extensive restoration works on both tapestries.

John Coburn's son Stephen recalled in 2018 that his father regarded the Curtain of the Sun and the Curtain of the Moon as his “greatest art works”, and their cultural and artistic significance remains beyond doubt. Today the tapestries stand as exceptional examples of Coburn’s abstract modern style and the weavers’ craft, and as a reminder of Jørn Utzon's intent for the bold use of colour in the theatres, realised by Peter Hall. As such they endure as vital and wonderful elements of the Opera House’s history and heritage.