Home / National Book Prize / The Malta Royal Opera House: Power, Culture, and the Stage Research The Malta Royal Opera House: Power, Culture, and the Stage The Malta Royal Opera House, destroyed in World War II, remains a powerful cultural emblem and a source of national nostalgia. But what is the story behind this lost landmark? The two volumes penetrate deeply into the theatre’s history from its first construction to its final ruin, setting it within its international context and highlighting the tensions between political authority and theatre administration. Book One: Design and construction; the first devastation by fireSets the context. Analyses architect Edward Middleton Barry’s designs; describes the building’s exterior and long-overlooked interior; presents rediscovered scenography that astonished audiences; and explains the 1873 fire and the introduction of electricity to Valletta and the opera house. Book Two: From reconstruction to destruction, and beyondDescribes the Maltese-led reconstruction and the new technologies generated; examines management, operations, audiences, and international stars; and, in an epilogue, reviews later rebuilding proposals. Designed and richly illustrated by Daniel Cilia and based on groundbreaking research and newly discovered imagery, the two volumes offer a comprehensive history of the Malta Royal Opera House and provide fresh insight into the protagonists and patrons who made it a symbolic focus of Malta’s European cultural identity. Buy the book Kite Group & Fondazzjoni Patrimonju Malti Research 2026 Vicki Ann Cremona Vicki Ann Cremona is a professor within the Theatre Studies Department and a former head of the School of Performing Arts of the University of Malta. She obtained her Docteur ès Lettres from the Université de Provence (France), specialising in theatre history and performance. She is a former member of the Executive Committee of the International Federation of Theatre Research (IFTR). Her current research focuses on the relations between theatre and power, seen mainly from a colonial and postcolonial perspective. Her international publications explore the social, political, and aesthetic dimensions of performance, focusing on theatrical events, public performance, protest and resistance. Her writings have covered topics such as Carnival, Commedia dell’Arte, theatre in Malta and in Tunisia. theatre anthropology and costume design. NEED ANY HELP? GET IN TOUCH contact us