On 26 January 1732 a satirical and anti-clerical play ""Il bacchettiere falso"" by Girolamo Gigli was performed. On 18 January 1769 the play "Il trionfo di Minerva", by Lentisco Adrasteo was presented on the occasion of Grand Master Manuel Pinto da Fonseca's birthday. A similar honour was also given to Ferdinand von Hompesch zu Bolheim, on his elevation as Grand Master. On this occasion, Hompesch appeared on the balcony thanking the crowd, showering handfuls of gold coins on the people that had gathered to applaud. Over the course of the next half-century, it was the venue for an extensive repertoire of lyric operas performed by companies of visiting professionals or by amateur groups of knights, and French tragedies or Italian comedies. Works by Johann Adolf Hasse, Niccolò Piccinni and Baldassare Galuppi were extremely popular at the theatre during its early years.