The story may not be as dramatic as most operas performed inside the House. But researchers from Sydney University hope that sending a robot up the sails to test the concrete and carry out repairs could extend the life of one of the world's best known buildings.
Sydney University's Professor Gianluca Ranzi is studying the feasibilty of using a robot to minimise human intervention and reduce the risk of harm to the building.
He likened the Opera House to a child. "I find it beautiful, when you talk to [the Opera House managers] about it, it is not as a structure, but as a child, but it is a feeling which makes a difference," said Professor Ranzi, who is the director of Centre for Advanced Structural Engineering.
"We are thinking in general to look ahead and think of the needs of the building in not a few years, but 100 to 150 years," he said.
If the House was looked after carefully, it could survive for as long as Roman structures in his native country of Italy.
Getty Foundation has provided grants to conserve some of last century's most famous works of modern architecture, ranging from works by Frank Lloyd Wright, Le Corbusier to the Jorn Utzon's Opera House, which is a World Heritage site.
Professor Ranzi said he was currently investigating the feasibility of how to remove the human element - which poses risks to the structure -by using a remote controlled robot which could conduct repairs and tests. A dozen students are also writing theses on conserving the House's unique concrete structure.
Amara Kruaval, 23, investigated the use of ultrasonic pulse velocity as a non-invasive way of testing the health of the concrete. But she found another use for the testing along the way. She found differences in the rates of the pulse could indicate what was behind the concrete, something that could be used on buildings to identify the presence or absence of steel.