Saxon State Opera House in Dresden (Semper Opera House)

The famous building known as the Semper Opera House is the second opera house in the City of Dresden. The first one, which once stood even closer to the Zwinger Palace, was destroyed by a fire in 1869. On an interim basis, a theatre was built that was nicknamed “shack” because of its simple construction. The architect Gottfried Semper was commissioned with the plans for the new building. However, he had fled because of his participation in riots and was not allowed to enter the city. His eldest son then took over building supervision.

On 13 February 1945, the day of the worst bombing of Dresden, the Semper Opera House was completely destroyed. In 1948 the company continued playing in the Dresden Theatre. The reconstruction of the opera house began in June 1977. To a large extent, the original plans of Gottfried Semper were kept to. In order to meet the increasing technical requirements for opera performances, the area backstage was enlarged and the auditorium extended.

Six sculptures can be seen on the outer façade: Goethe and Schiller at the entrance, Shakespeare and Sophocles on the left side and Molière and Euripides on the right. The portal, which extends over two storeys, is crowned by a panther-drawn quadriga. The interior of the opera house is magnificently decorated with elements from the antiquity and Italian Renaissance. The foyer, staircases and corridors are decorated with valuable paintings, sculptures and chandeliers. The Semper Opera House serves as an architectural model for many theatre buildings. The auditorium with its impressive acoustics seats about 1,300 people on four tiers. A huge clock in the auditorium shows the time with numbers, not hands. At the time of Semper, this digital clock was a real novelty.

The new building of the opera house was completed for the 40th anniversary of its destruction and officially opened with the opera “Der Freischütz” (“The Marksman”). This was the opera that was the last to be performed in the destroyed building. After reunification, the Semper Opera House was given the official name “Saxon State Opera House”. The floods of the Elbe in August 2002 destroyed the stage machinery and the heating system, and also, scenery, costumes and instruments were damaged. Total damage costs amounted to 27 million euro. But as soon as three months later, the opera performances were able to be continued.

Dresden’s Semper Opera House is considered to be one of the most important opera houses. Numerous famous operas were first performed here, such as “Tannhäuser” and “Der Fliegende Holländer” (“The Flying Dutchman”) by Richard Wagner as well as “Electra” and “Der Rosenkavalier” (“The Knight of the Rose”) by Richard Strauss. There were also more outstanding performances of the operas “Die Zauberflöte” (“The Magic Flute”), “Der Freischütz” and many others.