At first productions were staged by the various Langues, but Grand Master Pinto introduced a professional company, after, it is said, repeated protests from the Inquisitor over pages and novices taking the soprano roles. The theatre became a centre of Malta's social life. The Master of the king's Chapel at Naples dedicated a number of musical dramas to the grand-masters and in the course of the 18th century a number operas by Galuppi, Paisello, Cimarosa and Pergolisi were staged.
The theatre was also used for dances when the pit was raised by scaffolding to the level of the stage. While from the outside the theatre is almost inconspicuous on the inside it is a charming and intimate space with three floors of boxes in open galleries, flanking the five boxes of the top floor, each box painted with delightful landscapes, cornucopias of flowers and other motifs.
