It was modelled on the La Scala theatre in Milan with its three-level horseshoe form and opened to the public on 10 October 1856, the birthday of Queen Isabella II.

The rebuild by Cesareo Iradier reduced the amount of wood and metal, and in 1914 Maestro Luna raised the curtain with his orchestra to reopen the theatre.

The ceiling originally featured magnificent works by the painters Francisco Hernández Tomé and Manuel Castellanos, but these were destroyed in renovations and structural changes that were made in 1956.

[3] The theatre then was acquired by the Sociedad General de Autores, although much of the facade and interior ornamentation was lost.

[1] In 1998 the theatre performed a celebrated revival of Federico Chueca's zarazuela La Gran Vía.