In 1873 the interior of the building was extensively damaged by fire. It was then rebuilt and by 1877 it reopened and was regarded as Valletta's most imposing landmark.

On the evening of Tuesday, April 7, 1942 the theatre was devastated by German bombers.

The bomb actually only destroyed about 25% of the Opera House, a fact that few people know. The rest was dismantled ‘for safety’s sake’ and the numbered stones which were stored in a field in Luqa were sold off by the peopled who were supposed to guard them, and this in spite of several reports being made to the authorities (source: Astrid Vella).

The remains of the Royal Opera House and all other remains now found elsewhere from the site

The Royal Opera House was built between 1861 and 1866 on the design of Edward Middleton Barry and was considered as one of the best examples of local Neo-Classical architecture.

The Maltese sculptor Salvatore Dimech executed much of the decorative sculpture. The front portico and colonnaded sides and rear elevation were reminiscent of a classical temple.

However, the massiveness, vigour and floridity of the building were typical Neo-Classical. The exposed masonry building was raised on a podium to compensate for the sloping site, creating a terrace on the front.

The interior was destroyed by fire in 1873, and was subsequently remodelled by Webster Paulson and E. L. Galizia and reopened in 1877. The Royal Opera House was hit by a parachute mine during the World War II which destroyed the roof and the foyer and damaged the interior. Instead of rebuilding the damaged parts, most of the surviving parts were dismantled/demolished, and only the podium with stairs and the underlying shops and part of the elevation on South Street were retained. The podium is in local hard stone and is lavishly decorated with sculpture and rustication, while the upper parts were in local soft stone.

The site chosen for the Opera House was close to the city gate, possibly to create a dramatic structure that would stand out on entering Valletta from the main gate.

Mepa scheduled the surviving masonry of the Royal Opera House and all other remains now found elsewhere as a Grade 2 national monument as per Government Notice number 276/08 in the Government Gazette dated March 28.

(Source: The Times of Malta -
24 Jan 2009)

In 1946 German prisoners-of-war in Malta apparently offered to rebuild the theatre for a nominal charge. The Government of the day declined to accept the offer, bowing to Union pressure for job protection at a time of massive unemployment and emigration.

By 1953, six architects submitted designs for the new theatre. A Committee chose Zavellani-Rossi's project and recommended its acceptance by Government subject to certain alterations. By 1957 the Opera House Project had been shelved and after 1961 all references to the theatre in the Malta's development plans were off the agenda.