The first performance in Slovak also took place in May of that year, with renditions of the one-act plays Hriech and V službe by Jozef Gregor-Tajovský.

The majority of the theatre's original repertoire was performed in Czech because there were not enough Slovak plays, translations, actors, or singers.

The first Slovak professional actors, Andrej Bagar, Janko Borodáč, Oľga Borodáčová, Jozef Kello, and Gašpar Arbét, formed the core of the SND promotional drama ensemble.

As a sign of this event's importance, Kálmán Tisza, then-Hungarian prime minister, and his entire cabinet, as well as noted Hungarian writer Mór Jókai, attended the ceremony.

The interior was decorated with frescoes by Bratislava-native painter Kornél Spányik and paintings by Munich artist Willibald Leo von Lütgendorff-Leinburg, among others.

Austrian sculptor Viktor Oskar Tilgner built the Ganymede fountain located in front of the theatre in 1888.

Due to a lack of funds, the building was under construction for 21 years, which increased the planned costs from 874 million to almost 5 billion Slovak crowns.