The opera house complex consists of a concert theatre, auditorium, formal landscaped gardens, cultural market with retail, luxury restaurants and an art centre for musical, theatrical and operatic productions.

[1] Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al Said, who was the ruler of Oman during the opera construction, had been always a fan of classical music and arts.

[2] This opera house, which was built by Carillion Alawi,[3] became the first in the world equipped with Radio Marconi's multimedia interactive display seatback system, Mode23.

There have also been music performances by cellist Yo Yo Ma and the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the American Ballet Theatre in a production of Don Quixote, The Paul Taylor Dance Company, the performance of Swan Lake by the Mariinsky Ballet, and trumpeter Wynton Marsalis with New York's Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra.

In March 2013, Indian violin icon L. Subramaniam performed at the opera house and described it as the only orchestra in the Middle East composed entirely of musicians from the region.