The first building was created by Gottfried Semper from 1838 to 1841 in the style of the early Italian Renaissance as the Royal Court Theatre. In 1869 he was burnt completely.
<p>The successor building was also designed by Gottfried Semper, but from his older son Manfred constructed as Gottfried Semper entry to Saxony was prohibited for political reasons. The new Semperoper was finished in 1879.
During the devastating bombing raids on Dresden in the night of 13 February 1945 the building was hit and destroyed. Reconstruction began with the groundbreaking ceremony in June 1977.
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On 13 February 1985, the 40th Anniversary of the destruction, the Semperoper  was reopened with the opera "Der Freischütz" by Carl Maria Weber.
<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.flickr.com/people/69460501@N04">Heribert Pohl --- Thanks for half  a million clicks!</a> from Germering bei München, Bayern
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<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/poly-image/8633604465/">Dresden Semperoper</a>