Germany Guide
Saxony
The Semperoper
Address: Theaterplatz 2
Telephone: 0351/491 17 05
Website: www.semperoper.de
Boxed in by Baroque, Theaterplatz is the most handsome square in Dresden. Its name derives from the Semperoper opera house (four or five tours a day; €7) at its back. The original building in which Wagner premiered Tannhäuser, Rienzi and The Flying Dutchman also did wonders for the career of its creator, Gottfried Semper, who went on to become a superstar architect of Europe and also a close friend of Wagner. The busts of playwrights and sculpture of Dionysus in a chariot pulled by panthers were rescued from an earlier venue destroyed by fire. The city's finest orchestras play here, with brilliant staging in the sumptuous concert hall – a world-class act. Also stages some ballet. Tickets for performances are sold at a desk in the Schinkelwache, a Neoclassical Schloss guardhouse turned tourist office.