Dresden Opera House was designed and build in the middle of XIX century by German Architect Gottfried Semper. Due to ridiculously bad planning on my part we got to Dresden on Monday and majority of the museums were closed. We decided to take unplanned tour of Dresden Opera house and I’m glad we did. The tour was amazing! Here are 10 Facts about Dresden Opera House that I learned during the tour.
10 Facts about Dresden Opera House
Semperoper was rebuilt twice: after the XIX century fire and after Allied bombing during World War II.
XIX century fire.
In XIX century, the building almost entirely burned during the fire just less than 20 years after opening. Temporary opera house took only 6 weeks to rebuilt and performances were held in temporary structure until the new building was completed.
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Opera House Rebuild
Both times Opera House was rebuilt almost identical to the original, even the paintings were recreated using original drawings.
Second reconstruction
The second reconstruction after the building was destroyed during 1945 bombing took almost 40 years and again the building was rebuilt using the original paintings
2002 flood
The first floor flooded entirely during the 2002 flood. The building was restored by hands and Dresden people partially funded the first-floor reconstruction.
Interior Transformation
The entire main sitting area chairs can be removed in less than a day and the hall transforms into large ball area.
Five-Minutes Digital Clock
The clock was built in XIX century by famous watchmaker Johann Christian Friedrich Gutkaes and his students during workshop. It survived the fire and 1945 bombing when the entire building was destroyed. The clock consists of two rotating wheels, minutes wheel rotates every five minutes. It is installed above the stage and still shown time to the Opera house guests.
Natural stone columns
Opera house halls decorated with natural stone columns that were polished by hands. It took several months to a year to polish one column by hands.
Wood-like looking paint
The inside walls painted using specific paint and a technique to look like actual wood. The artist who performed the initial work almost 30 years ago was invited to assist with restoration after 2002 flood.
