Remember the uproar, the protests, the vociferous opposition when Renzo Piano proposed to restore the ruins of the Royal Operas House with a roofless theatre?

Remember the wall to wall opposition by the cultural elites?

Now, after some months in operation we have the magazine produced by the Arts Council, Encore, praising it … well, not to the roof, but to the sky.

“Pjazza Teatru Rjal has fast made a name for itself as one of Malta’s most popular venues,” the article says.

Like with other sources of popular protest in those years, one hesitates now to say what it really was.

Take just one name from the many who protested, the world-famous Maltese tenor Joseph Calleja who repeated over and over again his opposition to the roofless theatre but then did not hesitate to hold his popular summer concerts first in the open-air Granaries in Floriana and later at the Luxol Ground.

People said the open air theatre would let in all the noise of Valletta and all the fireworks but here we have PTR open all these months, holding concerts like there’s no tomorrow and no one bothers to complain about fireworks or people shouting from balconies across the road. True, the screens that were supposed to act as noise dampeners were not out up (one cost-cutting measure) but otherwise it was fine.

Actually, as Noel D’Amato, PTR’s operations manager tells the magazine, “PTR is certainly special. Overseas, so many outdoor theatres sit on the outskirts of a city, whereas here you are right in the middle of it. This theatre has become one of the hearts of Valletta, and now has a very prominent role within it. Of course, there are challenges – the noise pollution and the light pollution, for instance – but I think all of that pales when compared to the magical ambience that the setting provides.”

PTR is now beloved by the many artists who have taken part in shows in it and it is now even more beloved by the crowds who thronged there during these months.

One could see this, for instance, in the almost casual way people walked in, and out, during the latest Notte Bianca when the theatre hosted an all-Maltese music session. People are comfortable with the theatre, and it has become part of the national scene.

Nor has, it seems, there been any sort of protest by the neighbours across the road (there are no other neighbours around) at the loud music that was being played. Anyway, the music that was played was of the popular type.

All this is being said now so as to lead to some reflections. What at times appears to be threatening can later prove to be attractive, rather than threatening or forbidding.

Of course, if one were to go beyond all the hype and the protests, one could also look and consider not just the professionalism of the architect himself but also the inspiration that led the artist-creator to come up with that solution.

Some downplay this and say all that Piano did was to level the ground and put in seats. On the contrary, Piano proposed minimalist changes but then opened up the site to the surrounding context, which would have gone lost had he closed off the whole theatre.

There are things that were promised but never materialized, like using the site as an open square linking Castille Square and City Gate so that people could walk through when the theatre was not in use. There are things that were promised but never implemented, like the afore-mentioned alabaster screens.

No one seems to mention either the subterranean dressing rooms about which so much was said at the time.

In short, PTR is now definitely part of the Malta scene. It has carved a welcome niche for itself in the music and theatre scene.