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Semperoper Dresden

Dresden, Germany
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The Semperoper is the opera house of the Saxon State Opera Dresden (German: Sachsische Staatsoper Dresden) and the concert hall of the Sachsische Staatskapelle Dresden in Dresden, Germany. It was first built in 1841, by architect Gottfried Semper. The building style itself is debated among many, as it has features that appear in the Early Renaissance style, Baroque and even features Corinthian style pillars typical of classical Greece (classical revival). Perhaps the most suitable label for this style would be Eclecticism; where influences from many styles are used- a practice most common during this period. It had to be rebuilt after a fire destroyed it in 1869. Unfortunately, during the last weeks of World War II in 1945 the building was destroyed again - this time by Allied bombing and the subsequent fire storms. Exactly 40 years later, on February 13, 1985 the opera was rebuilt almost the same as it was before the war. It reopened with the same opera that was performed last before the destruction in 1945: Weber's Der Freischutz. The Opera is situated on the Theater Square in central Dresden on the bank of the Elbe River. On top of the portal there is a Panther quadriga with a statue of Dionysos. The interior was created by such famous architects of the time as Johannes Schilling. Monuments on the portal depict famous artists such as Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Friedrich Schiller, William Shakespeare, Sophocles, Moliere and Euripides. The building also features work by Ernst Rietschel and Ernst Julius Hahnel.

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krazin, March 21st, 2011
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