The Manoel Theatre on Old Theatre Street is one of the oldest working theatres in Europe, built in 1731 and still staging opera, theatre, and ballet. The building is intimate by any standard — it seats fewer than 700 — and the horseshoe-shaped auditorium with its three tiers of boxes feels genuinely 18th century. It is the main venue for the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra and hosts the local opera season, which draws serious productions and international singers.
Tours of the theatre are available on certain days when no rehearsals or performances are scheduled. The ornate interior, with painted ceiling medallions, gilded box fronts, and period fittings largely intact, is the main draw. The theatre sits in the middle of Valletta's residential grid, on a quiet street a couple of blocks north of Republic Street.