Teatru Manoel [Valletta]
Manoel Theatre
Teatro Manoel
Theatre building in Valletta, Malta, opened in 1731
theater in Valletta, Malta
Teatru Manoel
No heritage stage machinery contact Perspectiv: Elizabeth Ebejer, CEO
An eighteenth-century playhouse built by the Grand Master Antonio de Vilhena in 1731. It opened a year later with a performance of Maffei's Merope, and flourished for a century or more with a nine-month season of mixed opera and plays. Renamed the Royal Theatre by the British occupying powers, it continued pre-eminent until the building of the much larger Opera House, after which it sank into disrepair. In the 1953 steps were taken to restore it. It was bought by the Maltese Government, and in 1957 a committee was set up to rebuild and modernize it backstage while retaining the historic auditorium and facade. On 27 Dec. 1960 it reopened as the National Theatre of Malta with a season by the Ballet Rambert.
Built 1731-1732 within 10 months by Francesco Zerafa and Antonio Azzopardi for the Grand Master of the Maltese Order, Fra Antonio Manoel de Vilhena. Opened 19 Jan 1732 with Scipione Maffei's drama La Merope. Later also known as Teatro reale. Restorations in 1812, 1844, and 1960.