The reconstruction of the Church of Our Lady was financed by donations from all over the world. Since it reopened in 2005, the Baroque masterpiece of architect George Bähr has continued great musical traditions. The Saturday concerts and the ‘Sacred Sunday Music’ series feature internationally renowned artists. On alternating Wednesdays, the organs of the Church of Our Lady, Dresden Cathedral and the Church of the Holy Cross can be heard. Dresden Music Festival promises to be a special highlight.
Holy Cross Boys Choir and Church of the Holy Cross
In 2006 Dresden celebrated its 800th anniversary as a city. The Holy Cross Boys Choir is almost as old and has made a great contribution to shaping the musical tradition of Dresden. Despite touring the whole world, the famous boys’ choir can often be heard in its home, the Church of the Holy Cross, at the weekend. The boys perform there a total of sixty times a year, in church services or concerts. In addition, there are over 20 Holy Cross Boys Choir vespers on Saturdays, which take place at 5 pm in the winter and 6 pm in the summer.
The maestro concerts are an insider tip for the connoisseur of more demanding chamber music. Albrechtsberg Castle, one of Dresden’s most beautiful late classicist buildings, was inspired by the famous Villa Medici and was built for a Prussian prince. And it is here that since 1993, world-famous soloists, top ensembles and young up-and-coming artists have played. The venue is the magnificent Crown Room.
From May to September the artists of the Landesbühnen Sachsen Theater perform in the Dresden Zwinger, the perfect synthesis of architecture and sculpture of the Baroque period. The highlights are the ‘Light Summer Concerts’ and the ‘Dance Serenades’. The Nymphs Fountain, between the Wall Pavilion and the Picture Gallery, is the setting for love, cunning and passion with the performance of Franz von Suppé’s ‘Beautiful Galatea’. The series of over 100 events in the Zwinger ends as usual with ‘Carmina Burana’ by Carl Orff.
The Sächsische Staatsoper Dresden: a house with an international reputation, with a distinguished orchestra, the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden and a worldranking roster of artists plus a vast array of guest stars, who are the talk of the town. The opera chorus, founded by Carl Maria von Weber: well-known beyond the borders of Germany for concerts and CD productions with the Sächsische Staatskapelle. This is where operatic history was made: world premières of Richard Wagner’s «Rienzi», «Der fliegende Holländer» and «Tannhäuser». And the inseparable link to Richard Strauss: nine of his operas made their first stage appearances here, among them «Salome», «Der Rosenkavalier» and «Elektra». Tradition and modernity in a meaningful interplay: a jubilant reception for the first European performance of the opera «Dead Man Walking
The Dresden Music Festival has an interesting history which dates
back to the middle of the Cold War.The Festival had built on the rich musical
history of Dresden and wanted to continue its success from the prewar
era – a time when maestro Toscanini drove his car from Milan to
Dresden to hear Fritz Busch at the Dresden Opera. Since the reunifi -
cation of Germany in 1989, whose 20th anniversary we will celebrate
in 2009, the city has flourished a new and the dynamics of the past
twenty years have created a special atmosphere. Today, Dresden is
poised to become the international symbol for understanding through
music, and we have the opportunity to celebrate with music this
restored city as a triumph of reconciliation. This is what we want the
Dresden Music Festival to be. We have invited various outstanding
artists and ensembles from across the world and created a close-knit
program, which focuses on the »New World«.
We are looking forward to many exciting experiences and invite you
to be part of it. May Dresden and the Dresden Music Festival send out
groundbreaking and positive cultural signals to the world.
For 20 years, the Dresden Festival of Contemporary Music has been one of the leading international festivals of modern music. The audiences experience the whole spectrum of contemporary music: symphonies and music theater, experimental dance, chamber music and electronic music, jazz and multimedia performance. A characteristic of this festival is the charming contrast between on the one hand traditional venues like the Semper Opera House, the Church of the Holy Cross and the Hellerau Festival Hall and on the other unusual venues such as galleries and studios.
The Elbe Riverbank Festival, a four-mile street festival located on the hillside along the Elbe River, started in 1990–91 from benefit events for Loschwitz Church, built by George Bähr (who also built the Church of Our Lady) and Pillnitz Vineyard Church, built by Matthäus Daniel Pöppelmann (who also built the Zwinger). The old wine villages on the slopes above the Elbe between Loschwitz and Pillnitz form one of the most captivating cultural landscapes in the city of Dresden and provide beautiful settings for a festival. Opening with a big parade, the annual festival features 200 concerts, theater performances and dance events, readings and markets located on village squares, in parks and villas, and on the Elbe riverbank and on the hillside. Tours and talks explain the history and tell stories about the area, while the actions of young contemporary artists fascinate the visitors.
The Hellerau Festival Hall in Dresden was built by Heinrich Tessenow in 1910–12 and after years of being used by the military, was re-opened in 2006. With the European Center for the Arts, it is once again a location of the modern. It is here that people meet who see the artistic answer to today’s world in the fusion of different media, and who seek modern venues alongside the traditional. Hellerau hosts the Dresden Festival of Contemporary Music, the CYNETart festival of computer art, the avant-garde Body Theater of the Compagnie DEREVO from St Petersburg and Dresden and the modern dance of the famous choreographer William Forsythe.
In 2007, hundreds of thousands of fans will be enjoying the hot rhythms of about 200 jazz musicians in about 30 bands from more than ten countries, as they have been doing every May for the last 36 years. The Riverboat-Shuffle with the oldest and biggest paddle-steamer fleet in the world, the Jazz Mile on Prager Street, the four-hour open-air concert in the Great Garden and the final parade of the bands through Dresden’s historical center are among the highlights of this internationally acclaimed jazz festival.
Before the Berlin Wall came down, plans existed to demolish the whole of Dresden’s Outer New Town with its 19th-century architecture, but fortunately funds were too limited. The area has now been fully renovated and is the trendy area of the city. Every year the Festival ‘Bunte Republik Neustadt’ (‘Colorful Republic of New Town’), a weekend for the whole family featuring all kinds of music, is held here with great imagination and attention to detail. Venues include cellars, garages, apartments, clubs and bars.
The Dresden State Operetta is one of the few light musical theatres in Europe.
The theatre is unique for cultivating the legacy of Johann Strauss - apart from “Vienna Blood”, two virtually forgotten works by the Waltz King can be found in its repertoire: the melody-rich “Roman Carneval”, an extraordinary success now entering its third season at the State Operetta, and as of April 2007 “The Queen’s Lace Handkerchief”. The latter, about the Spanish poet Miguel Cervantes, is a gem among the composer’s works, with melodious romances and saucy couplets.
The State Operetta’s varied programme of operettas, light operas and musicals focuses on classics such as “The Beggar Student”, “Die Fledermaus” and “Boccaccio”, but also “The Magic Flute”, the musicals “Jekyll & Hyde”, "Chess" and the rock opera “Jesus Christ Superstar”.
The extravagant travesty theater in the Outer New Town district of Dresden is located immediately behind ‘Pfunds Molkerei’, which, according to the Guinness Book of Records, is the most beautiful milk shop in the world. The theater captivates its audiences with glamorous revues in the style of Lido and Moulin Rouge, featuring lively scenes from well-known musicals, live singing parodies and top-class comedy. Every month a new star guest is presented. In the stylish setting, the feast for the ears and eyes is followed by international delights for the taste-buds.
