Outdoor opera performance in Sydney was rained off - and everyone made the same joke

Footage of an outdoor performance of Phantom of the Opera in Sydney, Australia getting rained out is going viral - prompting everyone to make the same joke about the location.

Videos of the opera show the performers singing The Point of No Return while heavy rains and wind drench the stage and weigh down the performers' costumes. Despite the website saying the performance will go on rain or shine, the torrential downpour proved to be too much.

TikTok user Matthew Vandeputte shared footage of the opera and said "Phantom of the Opera on Sydney harbour got cut short tonight because some clouds couldn't keep their rain in long enough 😤😤 pretty surreal experience to be honest and what an amazing show."

Against the set design and lighting, the rain looks as though it's meant to be part of the show. But once viewers realized the performance took place outdoors, people could not help but make the same joke about moving the performance inside - to an opera house nearby perhaps?

"Sydney really needs to invest in some form of an opera house," a TikTok commenter said.

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"Imagine if Sydney had a roofed building to perform the arts. You could call it The opera house of Sydney," another joked.

Many were confused as to why the performance is taking place outdoors when the famous Sydney Opera House sits a few feet away. According to Opera Australia, Phantom of the Opera is newly part of the Handa Opera at Sydney Harbor program, which has been putting on operas outdoors for nearly ten years.

The open-air concept allows audience members to experience opera under the night sky in a new environment.

Commenters were baffled the show continued to go on for as long as it did, but the set, costumes, and performers are fully prepared for the rain, to begin with.

Georgina Hopson, who plays Christine Daae, took to her Instagram to share videos and behind-the-scenes information regarding the rained-out show.

“Tonight we had to stop the show because of a torrential downpour – @jrobson4 and I literally performed the Point of No Return in a monsoon. I couldn’t even open my eyes,” she wrote on an Instagram Story. “I had to sit down in this dress because it was so heavy soaked with water! My job is insane.”

Luckily the sets and costumes are made to handle the rain, however, the extreme downpour was a bit too much to continue.

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