The Semperoper opera house burned to the ground in 1869, just 30 years after it opened. Architect Gottfried Semper, exiled for his role in the 1848 revolution, couldn't return to Dresden to rebuild his masterpiece. Instead, he drew up plans from abroad and sent his eldest son to oversee construction. The new opera house opened in 1878, a year before Semper died in Rome.

Dresden's pride survived barely a century before Allied bombs gutted it in February 1945, along with 70% of the city. Reconstruction began in 1977, faithful to Semper's design down to the 400-kilogram painted curtain depicting poets and composers. Then in 2002, the Elbe rose during what locals call the flood of the century, surging into the theatre and causing 27 million euros in damage.

VoiceMap's self-guided audio tours explain how the Semperoper anchors Dresden's Theaterplatz, connecting Semper's architectural vision to the Italian craftsmen who built the neighbouring Hofkirche and the royal ambitions that shaped this baroque ensemble.