It was constructed by the order of Augustus II and modelled after the small court theater of Dresden from 1687.
Prior to the Operalnia, opera and theater had only been performed in Poland at the private royal court theatres.
Foreign (mostly Italian and French) opera, ballet, and theater was performed on the stage of the Operalnia.
In 1765, the National Theatre, Warsaw was inaugurated in the Operalnia opera house.
The National Theatre as well as the opera was moved to the Radziwiłł Palace at the Krakowskie Przedmieście and in 1778 to a building at the Krasiński square, where it remained until 1833.