The curtain rose on the first performance at the Grand Opera House on 23 December 1895, heralding the achievements of architect Frank Matcham and proprietor Joseph F. Warden. The end of the war brought touring opportunities to Belfast once again, and audiences were treated to leading opera and ballet performances, plus popular acts including George Formby and Laurel & Hardy. In 1963, an unknown Italian singer named Luciano Pavarotti made his UK debut on the stage of the Grand Opera House in the role of Lieutenant Pinkerton in Madame Butterfly. With demolition imminent, the Ulster Architectural Society launched a campaign to save the building and in 1974, the Grand Opera House became the first listed building in Northern Ireland. After restoration, it re-opened as a theate in 1980.