Sydney Opera House the first performing arts company worldwide to have new state-of-the-art LED lighting

As head of lighting at the Sydney Opera House, Matt Osborn isn't used to being in the spotlight himself.

"A lot of our job is to not be seen and not be noticed," he said.

But in recent weeks, Mr Osborn has stepped out of the shadows to oversee the installation of brand new lights in the world-famous Concert Hall.

The old incandescent bulbs have been removed and replaced with state-of-the-art LED technology.

"We needed something that has relatively low fan noise so it could be used for a symphony orchestra," he said.

"It needed to be extremely bright so that it can be used for live music and to be colourful and fast.

"These lights do all of the above and more."

A cost-saver

Unlike the old lights that had to be replaced every few months at almost $400 a pop, Mr Osborn said the new lights had an expected life span of 50,000 hours.

That means they're unlikely to need replacing for at least a decade.

The new lights also use significantly less energy — reducing electricity costs and helping the Sydney Opera House meet its sustainability targets.

For Mr Osborn, the lighting is an integral part of any show.

"If you walk away feeling something, a lot of the time it's because of the lights that are around you and the music that surrounds you and the atmosphere that creates," he said.

"So I think it's pretty important."

The LED lights can change shape, size and colour, providing greater versatility in a venue that hosts hundreds of performances a year, ranging from symphony orchestras to rap artists.

Head of contemporary music and curator of Vivid Live, Ben Marshall, said the Sydney Opera House was increasingly on the bucket list of big-name touring acts.

A dramatic improvement

Mr Marshall said the next-generation lighting would enable the Opera House to meet the high standard expected by modern-day audiences and performers.

"Everyone agrees on lighting, it either whacks you in between the eyes or it doesn't," he said.

"So to be able to deliver that kind of power and sophistication is incredibly important."

Two years ago, a major renovation of the Concert Hall resulted in a dramatic improvement in the doggedly problematic acoustics.

Mr Marshall hopes the LED installation will prove just as transformative for the lighting.

"Lighting used to just be something that happened over the stage.

"Now you can play with the entire immersive space, which is an absolute joy.

"And this space is so remarkable, we just want to do our absolute best by it."

The plan is for LED lighting to be progressively installed in all of the building's performance spaces.

The need to invest in live stream technology

In another major upgrade, the Opera House has invested in high-definition camera technology that will allow performances to be live streamed on digital platforms such as Netflix.

The new equipment combines a cinematic camera with a long-range broadcast lens.

"We can get cameras on stage and close to people that an audience in the venue will never get access to," Mr Johnson said.

"You can go in close and see little looks between performers that you might not get from out in the auditorium."

From a fully-equipped broadcast studio in the bowels of the world-famous building, Mr Johnson oversees the filming and editing of live performances.

A recent sold-out concert was watched by 2,000 ticket holders at the venue while another one million people tuned in on the live stream.

Many shows can be watched free of charge on the Sydney Opera House website.

"Some people for whatever reason can't actually make it here physically and they shouldn't be denied, they should have access to content," Mr Johnson noted.

"The key aim is to share it with as many people as possible."

It also means big events can be captured for posterity.

"Once a live performance is done, it's over, whereas this now can live on."