Teatru Manoel
Malta's national theatre, a gilded Baroque auditorium of 1732 still staging drama, opera and concerts.
Teatru Manoel was built in 1731 on the orders of Grand Master Antonio Manoel de Vilhena, who paid for it from his own purse and intended it as a place of honest recreation for the people of Valletta. It opened in January 1732 with a performance of Scipione Maffei's tragedy Merope. The oval auditorium rises through three tiers of boxes finished in gilded woodwork, beneath a painted ceiling, and is counted among the oldest theatres in Europe still in regular use.
The building passed through several changes of name and use, serving as a shelter and cinema in the twentieth century before the Maltese government bought and restored it in the 1950s. It reopened in 1960 and now works as Malta's national theatre, presenting drama, opera, dance, orchestral concerts and a dedicated children's strand, as well as hosting the annual Valletta Baroque Festival. Guided visits take in the auditorium, the boxes and a small theatre museum.
Highlights
- Oval auditorium with three tiers of gilded boxes
- Opened in January 1732 under Grand Master de Vilhena
- Among the oldest working theatres in Europe
- Guided visits include the auditorium and theatre museum
