Gottfried Semper designed the first opera house, which opened on April 13, 1841, with an opera by Carl Maria von Weber. A fire in 1869 destroyed it. The Gewerbehaussaal, opened in 1870, hosted performances during construction. Semper's plans were used for the rebuild, carried out by his son Manfred Semper while Gottfried was in exile, and it was completed in 1878.
The article calls the 1841 building eclectic, combining early Renaissance, Baroque and Corinthian elements, and the 1878 rebuild Neo-Renaissance. It describes the whole as a prime example of Baroque Revival architecture. The auditorium holds 1,300 people.
Bombing and a firestorm in 1945 left only the exterior shell standing. The reconstruction was completed on February 13, 1985, exactly 40 years later. The 2002 Elbe flood caused heavy water damage, and the house reopened in December 2002.
Comments