page_title: Royal Opera House, Valletta
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Royal Opera House, Valletta / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Now demolished Royal Opera House, Valletta in 1935.
context_page_description: The Royal Opera House, also known as the Royal Theatre, was an opera house and performing arts venue in Valletta, Malta. It was designed by the English architect Edward Middleton Barry and was erected in 1866. In 1873 its interior was extensively damaged by fire but was eventually restored by 1877. The theatre received a direct hit from aerial bombing in 1942 during World War II. Prior to its destruction, it was one of the most beautiful and iconic buildings in Valletta. After several abandoned plans to rebuild the theatre, the ruins were redesigned by the Italian architect Renzo Piano and in 2013 it once again started functioning as a performance venue, called Pjazza Teatru Rjal.
context_section_description: The design of the building was entrusted to Edward Middleton Barry, the architect of Covent Garden Theatre, and the classic design plan was completed by 1861. The original plans had to be altered because the sloping streets on the sides of the theatre had not been taken into consideration. This resulted in a terrace being added on the side of Strada Reale (nowadays Republic Street) designed by Maltese architects.
  The building of the 206 feet (63 m) by 112 feet (34 m) site started in 1862, after what was the Casa della Giornata was demolished. After four years, the Opera House, with a seating capacity of 1,095 and 200 standing, was ready for the official opening on 9 October 1866.
  The theatre was not to last long; on 25 May 1873, a mere six years after its opening, it was brought to a premature end by a fire. The exterior of the theatre was undamaged but the interior stonework was calcified by the intense heat.
  It was decided to rebuild the theatre, and after the issuing of tenders for the work and a lot of arguing whether the front had to be changed or not, the theatre was ready. On 11 October 1877, after nearly four and a half years from the fire, the theatre reopened with a performance of Verdi's Aida.
  Some 65 years later, tragedy struck the Royal Opera House again:
  On the evening of Tuesday, April 7, 1942, the theatre was devastated by Luftwaffe bombers. The next morning a people hardened by aerial bombing inspected the remains of their national theatre.... The portico and the auditorium were a heap of stones, the roof a gaping hole of twisted girders. The rear end starting half way from the colonnade was however intact.
  The remaining structures were levelled down in the late 1950s as a safety precaution. There is a claim that German prisoners-of-war in Malta offered to rebuild the theatre in 1946 with the Government declining due to Union pressure; the more likely reason was that hardly anyone of these prisoners of war could be expected to be qualified masons.
  All that remained of the Opera House were the terrace and parts of the columns.
caption: The Opera House in 1935.
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