The Dresden Opera House's exterior is adorned by an imposing bronze quadriga with panthers created by German sculptor Johannes Schilling. On it are the god Dionysus and his wife Ariadne. Dionysus is half-naked; the nebris (young deer skin) covers only a part of his body. He wears a wreath of vine leaves and grape bunches. He holds the thyrsus in his right hand and the reins of the four panthers that draw the quadriga in his left. He's looking at Ariadne. Ariadne wears a head veil and a himation that covers the lower part of her body. She embraces Dionysus with her right hand while leaning on the chariot with her left.

Since antiquity, the iconographical theme has been particularly popular, and it has been adopted by many later artists. It may be symbolically related to the function of the building since operas with relevant mythological content were performed, for example, the opera "Ariandne auf Naxos" (Ariandne on Naxos) by Richard Strauss.