Down Under is on top from Jan. 9–27 when the Sydney Festival fills the city with film, music, entertainment, food and art. Just a few of the stunning performances scheduled to take place include the opera Dido & Aeneas performed underwater in a huge glass aquarium on stage — choreographed by Berlin’s Sasha Waltz, and accompanied by baroque orchestra Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin (Jan. 16–21). Also on the schedule are the sophisticated slapstick of La Cucina Dell’Arte, aerial acrobatics by Ockham’s Razor (Jan. 21–26), electronic music from Iceland, Japanese funk, magic acts, Christian Boltanski’s large-scale art installation, Chance, and a number of international films.

Events are staged at multiple venues around the city and harbor including Sydney Opera House, the Seymour Centre, City Recital Hall Angel Place, Riverside Theatres, Enmore Theatre and Festival Village. Cheeky finishing touches include a gigantic inflatable Stonehenge that doubles as a children’s bouncy castle, and the five-story, bright yellow Rubber Duck floating in the harbor — the work of artist Florentijn Hofman.

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