How to Explore The Transcendental Dubai Opera - Guide to Enjoying a Night at the Opera in Dubai

While Dubai may not have been a city associated with opera prior to 2016, the construction of the Opera District in Dubai's downtown area has put the desert city firmly on the world's opera map. Dubai Opera is a state-of-the-art venue for performance art, occupying an impressive 60,000 square metres. Whether you're an opera enthusiast or a newcomer to this ancient art form, this is the perfect place to discover and enjoy the beauty of opera in Dubai.

Dubai Opera: A World-Class Entertainment Hub

Although Dubai is one of the Middle East's most popular travel destinations, it has been largely known as a retail hub for the masses. While there's no denying the appeal of the city's sky-piercing department stores and iconic malls such as the Dubai Mall, there's more to discover in this part of the world than luxury shopping compounds. Culture buffs heading to Dubai can uncover an overlooked aspect of the city with a tour of Downtown Dubai's Opera District. Built in 2016 to be a multi-format concert space and theatre, the Dubai Opera has been used as an exhibition centre and even a banquet venue in the past. This architectural marvel and entertainment landmark with 2000 seats, however, has also been hosting world-class operas, exhibitions and art showcases for years.  A holiday in Dubai is the perfect opportunity to catch a show at this impressive building in the shape of a dhow boat. 

Greger Ravik, DubaiOpera, CC BY-SA 3.0 

Reaching the Dubai Opera

The Dubai Opera is situated in the downtown area of the city and is located at the centre of the Opera District. It is also known as the Dhow and has a complete list of programmes available on its website for visitors to choose from. The venue is accessible to people with limited mobility. If you're planning to attend a show at the Dubai Opera, you must purchase tickets in advance from the official box office, located down Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Boulevard, at the Opera Plaza. The box office is open from 10 am to 9 pm, and you can easily purchase tickets for upcoming shows and other events taking place at the venue.

What to Expect

 Travellers who are unfamiliar with the world of opera will be relieved to find that the Dubai Opera hosts a wide variety of productions including plays, comedy nights and musicals. Leading orchestras also hold concerts and recitals at the venue as well as performing art shows from different parts of the world. This means that one can expect to find everything from classical musical programmes to ballet recitals and Broadway musicals in Pop, Rock and Jazz genres at the Dubai Opera. The performance art hub has also played host to globally recognised artists from the Middle East and beyond. Visitors based at Avani Palm View Dubai and other similar hotels near The Palm Dubai will find that the Dubai Opera District is the perfect after-dark haunt for music lovers and theatregoers. 

Highlights at the Dubai Opera

Although the Dubai Opera has served as the host venue for some truly jaw-dropping performances since it first opened its doors to the public in 2016, there are certain events that truly took Dubai by storm. The world-renowned Russian ballet's performance of The Nutcracker was one such red letter day in The Dhow's history while Placido Domingo, the artist known as the "King of Opera", also graced the Dubai Opera stage. Other headlining performers who made a lasting impression with their performances at the Dubai Opera include Julio Iglesias and Anoushka Shankar. Pop sensations Vengaboys and Rita Ora are other performers that stand out in memory while several classical ballet performances of pieces such as Swan Lake have also taken centre stage in recent years.