Gmach w 1870 roku. Fot. Victoria and Albert Museum, London

The Royal Opera House in Valletta. A gem that was never rebuilt

·21 August 2026

The Royal Opera House in Valletta was Malta’s most important theatre for over 70 years. The building, erected in the 19th century, survived a major fire during its history, after which it was, however, rebuilt. It did not, however, survive the bombing raids of the Second World War. Although a significant part of its stone structure remained intact after the air raid, the ruins were eventually demolished. Today, a theatre designed by Renzo Piano stands on the site, whilst the surviving fragments of the former opera house serve as a reminder of a painful loss for the whole country.

The British Opera House in Malta

The Royal Opera House in Valletta, known in Maltese as It-Teatru Rjal, was built during the period of British rule over the island. The building was erected on Strada Reale, now Republic Street, just beyond the main gate of Valletta. The design was the work of the English architect Edward Middleton Barry, son of Charles Barry and the architect behind the new Royal Opera House in London’s Covent Garden. Barry drew up the plans in 1861, and four years later the theatre was complete. The neoclassical structure featured lavish decoration and a high stage, necessitated by the significant slope of the ground. The building was approximately 63 metres long and 34 metres wide. The auditorium originally seated 1,095 people and accommodated around 200 standing.

Stone, columns and sculptures

What set the opera house apart was its exceptionally striking and elaborate colonnade surrounding the building. The front portico and the side and rear façades were reminiscent of a classical temple. They were carved from local limestone – the ground floor and podium were constructed from harder stone, whilst the upper sections were made from a softer variety. Rusticated surfaces, classical columns and numerous sculptural ornaments created a very opulent setting. The Maltese sculptor Salvatore Dimech was responsible for a significant part of the decoration. The building stood out clearly against the backdrop of Valletta’s older buildings, which were dominated by 16th- and 17th-century architecture. Barry employed the language of Neoclassicism in his design, enriching it with Neo-Baroque details.

The Royal Opera House in Valletta – disasters

The institution was inaugurated on 9 October 1866. The first performance staged to mark the occasion was Vincenzo Bellini’s opera *I Puritani*. Works by Verdi, Bizet and Donizetti were also performed on stage, and renowned opera singers appeared before Maltese audiences. Just a few years after it opened, the building suffered its first disaster. On 25 May 1873, a fire destroyed the theatre’s interior. The exterior of the building was largely spared, so it was decided to rebuild it. Webster Paulson and E. L. Galizia were involved in the work, and the restored theatre reopened on 11 October 1877. Ultimately, it was the war that brought its operations to an end. On 7 April 1942, German Stuka dive-bombers struck the Royal Opera House directly. The entire roof, the portico and the main part of the auditorium were destroyed.

The ruined building disappeared from the landscape

Despite such extensive damage, the opera house was not reduced to a mere heap of rubble. The rear section survived up to the height of the colonnade, and fragments of the podium, stairs and façade also remained. Despite this, the surviving sections were demolished in the 1950s, with the decision justified on safety grounds. Architect Edwin Abela, who was involved in the work, later claimed that the building could have been rebuilt. Some of the stone elements were numbered and stored with a view to a possible reconstruction, but over time the materials became scattered throughout Valletta as it rose from the rubble. Crucially, in 1953 an international competition was announced for the reconstruction of the opera house. The winning design was by Marcello Zavellani-Rossi and Alziro Bergonzo, inspired by Italian rationalism and the Stile Littorio. The design was even approved, and 280,000 pounds were earmarked in the budget. Ultimately, the project never came to fruition.

The Royal Opera House in Valletta – transformed into Piazza Teatro Reale

After the demolition, the site of the former opera house remained vacant for many years, and part of it was converted into a car park. The following decades saw new ideas emerge for the redevelopment of the ruins. In the 1980s, Renzo Piano was commissioned to work on the project. Ultimately, the renowned architect proposed preserving the surviving sections of the building and creating an open-air theatre amongst them. Piazza del Teatro Reale opened on 8 August 2013. The contemporary stage covers approximately 2,800 square metres and has a capacity of around 897 seats. The historic stone podium, steps and fragments of columns are prominently displayed, whilst the steel elements of the auditorium and stage have a distinctly contemporary form. No attempt was made to recreate the original structure. In its place, a new stage was built, restoring the theatre’s function to a site that has been associated with the Royal Opera House for nearly 150 years.

Source: ghrc.gov.mt, timesofmalta.com, pjazzateatrurjal.gov.mt

The Royal Opera House in Valletta, 1890 and 2015. Source: loc.gov and Frank Vincentz, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The area surrounding the building during the Second World War and the same spot today. Source: pjazzateatrurjal.gov.mt and Google Maps/BAKILI – Film