The Ship Song Project: Artists pay tribute to the Sydney Opera House

It started as a three-week project in the winter of 2010 to pay tribute to the Sydney Opera House, the arts epicenter of the nation. After drawing together Australia's and the region's best performers, it ended nine months later.

“It grew in ambition,” said director Paul Goldman.

The Ship Song Project has now come to life.

The idea was to use Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds' 1990 song and recreate it, filmed beneath the Opera House’s architectural sails.

The result is a musical amalgam of Australian opera, dance, classical, folk and rock that edifies the harborside home to the arts –- and a creative nation.

Lyrics by Neil Finn, of Crowded House fame, begin the piece: “Come sail your ships around me and burn your bridges down.”

It later continues: “We talk about it all night long, we define our moral ground.”

The emotional idealism of Nick Cave’s tune is showcased for a nation –- and the world.

Angus Stone, who performs with Julia in the song, says, “It’s almost like the song’s written for the Opera House and bridge and this part of the world.”

It is a song, and a story, of a nation that dreams. Indigenous singer-songwriter Kev Carmody, who performed with the Australian Ballet Company, said it’s also about, “The beauty (and) ancientness of this majestic place … imagine what it was like 250 years ago, my friends, it would’ve been paradise."

“It’s a coming together of cultures, people and disciplines.”

Local industry favorite Paul Kelly performs with the indigenous dancing troupe, Bangarra, who are said to hang like birds from a ceiling.

Temper Trap, Katie Noonan, Daniel Johns of Silverchair, Sydney Symphony, Opera Australia, the Australian Chamber Orchestra and Sarah Blasko, among others, also take part.

The chief executive of the Opera House, Stephen O’Connor, said the project “pulled off a miracle.”

And by doing so, paid tribute to the idealism of a nation.

Quotes in the text are taken from "The Ship Song Project" documentary, narrated by Guy Pearce, which can be viewed here.