In recent years it has hosted opera stars such as Montserrat Caballé and José Carreras,[2] while also serving as a traditional venue for national celebrations and presidential inaugurations.

Anxious to reconcile the Georgian opinion in view of these lingering difficulties, the new Viceroy of the Caucasus, Count Mikhail Vorontsov, implemented a number of cultural initiatives, one of which was the foundation of the opera.

The declared purpose of its establishment was to benefit the "public well-being" but it also served an important political goal of fully integrating the local Georgian aristocracy into the Imperial social life, thereby distracting them from any further anti-Russian conspiracies.

These types of efforts were particularly relevant in light of the ongoing Shamil's rebellion in the North Caucasus, which prompted some Russians to see Georgian aristocrats as the only bulwark protecting Russia's southern imperial borders.

[5] Vorontsov's conciliatory efforts were not without controversy, as not all Russians were enthusiastic about non-Russian contributions to the city's cultural development; some objected to Georgian-language productions and had them moved to different days, rather than precede regular opera performances as it was done up to that point.

[6] At Vorontsov's initiative, the original theater site was chosen on Rustaveli Avenue in Erivansky Square, an area the administration correctly envisioned would be the center of the expanding city.

Several months later, the popular Parisian newspaper L'Illustration (issue 25 October 1851) printed a large article by Edmond de Bares with two pictures of the interior of the theater.

The author wrote, "This is the only theatre in the city, the interior of which is totally Moorish in style, and is doubtless one of the most elegant, beautiful and fascinating theatrical constructions, conceived by man.

"[7] In the spring of 1851, the theater director invited an Italian opera troupe, which had been touring the Russian Empire under the conductorship of Francisco Asenjo Barbieri, to perform in Tiflis.

After the spectacle, which had a great success, the hosts led Barbieri and the company to the left bank of the Kura River for a public feast, where people celebrated on boats for the whole night.

The government could not provide sufficient resources for the theater to function: this prevented the creation of new scenery or costumes, the recruitment of artists, and maintenance of the already vulnerable building.