sentences:  The hall was built as a concert hall for the New Philharmonic Society and opened on 24 April 1867.The Hall could be used as a theatre, however, and the first production at "St. George's Theatre" was "A Woman's Whim" by Walter Stephens on 3 December 1867.Soon afterwards, the theatre was leased by Thomas German Reed, who initially produced and conducted "The Contrabandista" (a comic opera by Arthur Sullivan and F. C. Burnand), "The Beggar's Opera" and other English operas in small-scale productions.