Not only one of the most beautiful opera houses in the world, the Semperoper is renowned both here and abroad for the brilliant star-studded performances by Saxon State Opera as well as numerous international guest artists. This is the home of the Staatskapelle Dresden, an orchestra which looks back on almost 475 years of uninterrupted music-making. The State Opera Chorus was founded by Carl Maria von Weber in 1817. Operatic history has been written here, with the Semperoper playing host to numerous important premieres, such as Richard Wagner’s »Rienzi«, »Der fliegende Holländer« and »Tannhäuser«. There is also an indissoluble link to Richard Strauss, nine of whose 15 operas were premiered in Dresden, including »Salome«, »Der Rosenkavalier« and »Elektra«. The small venue Semper Zwei provides space for diverse forms of music theatre as well as theatrical experiments, and is also the venue for performances of Semperoper Junge Szene. Additional information