In 1783, the original theatre was replaced with a new stone building, the Théâtre de Neuve, designed by Pierre-David Matthey, with three tiers of boxes surrounding the orchestra seats and an audience capacity of 1000.

Nevertheless, Its stage was cramped, with very little room in the wings, and the orchestra pit could not seat more than 30 musicians.

At the eve of the French Revolution, as waves of political unrest rocked Geneva, the new theatre's function was still to entertain foreign officers sent as reinforcements and seats were primarily reserved for sponsors and shareholders.

The theatre reopened in 1817 and expanded its audiences and repertoire, including works by contemporary composers such as Rossini, Donizetti, Auber and Meyerbeer, Beethoven, Weber and even Wagner, whose Tannhäuser was heard in Geneva long before it was ever performed in Paris.

The general trend was partial to the French repertoire, preferably light: Faust was a regular hit, but nowhere near La fille de Madame Angot in popularity.