Semperoper

Gottfried Semper gave Dresden its opera house in 1841, fire took it in 1869, and his son Manfred rebuilt it to the same drawings by 1878. Destroyed in 1945, it was raised a third time and reopened in 1985, faithful down to the painted ceilings and the five-minute clock above the stage, an 1841 invention that shows the time in numerals so latecomers cannot pretend otherwise. The resident orchestra, the Sachsische Staatskapelle, was founded in 1548 and is among the oldest anywhere. This stage saw the first performances of Wagner's Der fliegende Hollander and Tannhauser and of Strauss's Salome, Elektra and Der Rosenkavalier, and the repertoire still leans hard on both composers.

History

Gottfried Semper's first opera house opened on 13 April 1841 with an opera by Carl Maria von Weber, in an eclectic mixture of Renaissance, Baroque and classical styles. After it burned in 1869 the citizens demanded that Semper rebuild it, although he was in exile for his part in the uprising of May 1849, so his son Manfred built the second house to his plans, completed in 1878 in Neo-Renaissance style, with a panther quadriga and Dionysus over the portal and figures of Goethe, Schiller, Shakespeare, Sophocles, Molière and Euripides. Largely destroyed in 1945, it was rebuilt almost exactly as before, with new stage machinery, and reopened on 13 February 1985, exactly 40 years later (Wikipedia, Semperoper).

What you'll find

• The auditorium - four tiers in cream, gold and red, restored from the original plans.
• The five-minute clock - a numeral clock above the proscenium, in place since the first house.
• The Staatskapelle - the resident orchestra, playing continuously since 1548.
• Theaterplatz - the square outside, framed by the Zwinger and the Hofkirche.

When to go

The season runs from autumn into early summer, with the house dark for several weeks in high summer when only tours operate. Tickets for the well-known repertoire go quickly and the best sightlines sell first. Daily guided tours are slotted between rehearsals, so times are fixed late in the day; buy them at the box office the same morning if you can.

Things to know

Tour slots depend on rehearsal schedules and can vanish on the day with no warning. Cheap seats in the upper tiers have restricted views and the boxes are cramped. Dress is smarter than most visitors expect. Tickets for the famous operas are expensive and often gone months ahead, and there is no cheap standing option to fall back on.

Nearby

The Zwinger, the Hofkirche, the Bruhl Terrace along the Elbe and the Residenzschloss.

Key facts