It is based at the Sydney Opera House for approximately eight months of the year, with the remainder of its time spent in at the Victorian Arts Centre in Melbourne, Victoria.
Like most opera companies, it is funded by a combination of government funding, corporate sponsorship, private philanthropy, and ticket sales. The proportion of its revenue from ticket sales is considerably higher than that of most companies.
As well as the traditional classical repertoire, a number of Australian operas have been premiered by the company.
The company is perhaps best known internationally for its association with Joan Sutherland, one of the best-known sopranos of the 1980s, and Baz Luhrmann's attention-grabbing production of La Bohème in the early 1990s.
The company has a second arm, OzOpera, which tours smaller centres and performs in non-traditional settings (for instance, for school groups).