His first documented work was in January 1641 for the opening of the Teatro Novissimo in Venice, where he was involved in the design of scenery and stage machinery for Francesco Sacrati's opera La finta pazza.

Mazarin had recruited Italian singers from Florence, but catering to French taste, comic ballet interludes choreographed by Giambattista Balbi replaced the choruses at the ends of the acts, and some of the recitative was spoken rather than sung.

Performed in the large hall of the Petit-Bourbon beginning on 14 December 1645, the production was a great success, and the spectacular scenic effects created by Torelli were received with enthusiasm.

[6] Although ostracised as a dependant of Mazarin during the Fronde (1648–1653), Torelli managed to stay in Paris and designed the scenery for a new French play, Pierre Corneille's Andromède (with music by Dassoucy).

The Troupe Royale of the Hôtel de Bourgogne were to perform it, but their usual stage was unsuitable for the scene-shifting machinery and special effects of a pièce à machine.

This not only saved labour, amongst other things, but also created spectacular scenic effects, the popularity of which led to a notable increase in the number of set changes per opera.

[9][10] Torelli brought the one-point-perspective set to its apogee with designs that revelled in a use of perspective that drew the eye to the horizon and beyond: the theatre stage seemed to extend to infinity.

[11] Torelli is also thought to have been the anonymous author of a severe critique of Vigarani's theatre at the Tuileries, Reflessioni sopra la fabrica del nuovo teatro.