Opera became so popular in Malta in the mid-19th century that the island's theaters reached capacity. In 1860, the Governor of Malta formally approved the construction of a new theatre near Valletta’s main entrance. The neoclassical Royal Opera House, which was designed by notable English architect Edward Middleton Barry, had seating for over one thousand people and opened officially in 1866. A few years later, in 1873, a fire raveged the building, closing the theater for over four years of restoration. Upon its reopening, the theatre would go on to become Malta’s leading performance venue.
During World War II, the opera house took another hit. It was severely damaged when Axis forces were laying siege to the islands. The interior, as well as most of the exterior walls, were destroyed by German bombers, leaving only several columns standing around the periphery of the site. The formally stunning building stood in ruins for decades afterwards. Later, the former interior floor was cleared of rubble and debris and used as a parking lot, and occasionally held open air performances. As the ruins stood in a very prominent location within Malta’s largest city, they became a very familiar sight and would even appear on postcards.
Efforts to redevelop the site stalled repeatedly until 2006, when works started on a proposal from Italian architect Renzo Piano’s proposal for rebuilding the area around Valletta’s City Gate. This included the construction of the new Parliament House and the transformation of the ruins of the Royal Opera House into a new open air theatre.
The new venue opened as the Pjazza Teatru Rjal in 2013. Today, the theatre seats 897 people at full capacity and has once again become one of Malta’s most important cultural venues, hosting multiple musical performances throughout the year.
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