The Royal Opera House Muscat

Opened in 2011, the Royal Opera House was the first purpose-built opera house in the Gulf, and rather than importing a European design it was built in Omani stone with carved teak, marble and mashrabiya screens, so it reads as a contemporary Omani building that happens to contain a horseshoe auditorium of about eleven hundred seats. The programming is deliberately broad: a season running from autumn to late spring takes in European opera and ballet from touring companies, orchestral concerts, Arabic classical and traditional Omani music, Indian classical performers and jazz, which reflects both Oman's audiences and its long Indian Ocean connections. Daytime tours take visitors into the auditorium and the surrounding arcade of shops and cafés when there is no rehearsal. There is a dress code and it is enforced.

What you actually see

• The auditorium - the horseshoe hall in carved teak and marble.
• The exterior and gardens - the Omani stone architecture and formal grounds.
• A performance - anything from touring opera to Omani and Indian classical music.
• The arcade - the surrounding colonnade of shops and cafés.

When to go

The season runs roughly September to May, which is also the pleasant half of the year in Muscat; the house is dark through the summer apart from tours. Daytime tours run most days but are cancelled for rehearsals, so check. Book performances well ahead, as popular nights sell out.

Honest expectations

There is a firm dress code for performances, formal or traditional Omani dress, and people are turned away for getting it wrong, so check what is required for your ticket. Daytime tours can be cancelled at short notice for rehearsals. Tickets for the big touring productions are expensive, though local and Arabic music nights are often very reasonable.

Nearby

Qurum beach and Muscat's shore are nearby; Mutrah souq and the Grand Mosque are a short drive.