The Dresden opera archive gives a reflection over at least 135 years of genre history and over 200 years of genre history and over 200 years of performance practice. It documents Dresden's importance as opera metropolice, since it is plenty of consigned opera and with it associated biographies of musicians.

Some scores have been used for performances well into the 20th century, the premiere material of Wagner's Flying Dutchmann even until 1978. The major part of the sheet music originated after the era of Johann Adolf Hasse which ended in 1764 and before the series of Strauss-premieres by Ernst von Schuch in 1901.

Due to the funding by the DFG the scores were developed electronically correspondent to RISM-standards under the direction of Ortrun Landmann in the years from 1993 to 1997.

From 2012 to 2015 the scores and librettos were digitized - again with the grant of the DFG - in the project Dresdner Opernarchiv digital. The presentation in the digital collection of the SLUB makes this interesting material accessible worldwide for the international music and dramatic research.