DNO was established shortly after the end of World War II as a repertory company with a permanent ensemble. In the postwar period, it toured extensively in the Netherlands from its home base in the Stadsschouwburg, a fin de siècle theatre on the Leidseplein in Amsterdam.
In 1964, it was renamed De Nederlandse Opera Stichting. (The Dutch Opera Foundation), and the company adopted a stagione orientation, inviting different soloists and artistic teams for each new production.
In 1986, the company moved to the new Muziektheater building, which it shares with the Dutch National Ballet, on the Amstel river and thereafter became known as the Nederlandse Opera.
Since 1988, the French-Lebanese theatere director Pierre Audi has been artistic director of DNO; musical director is the Dutchman Edo de Waart, its chief guest conductor is Hartmut Haenchen. DNO has its own choir of sixty singers and a technical staff of forty.
DNO produces on average eleven productions per year, with nearly all performances sold out. While most performances are in the Muziektheater, the company has also performed in the Stadsschouwburg, at the Koninklijk Theater Carré, and on the Westergasfabriek industrial site in Amsterdam. For many years, the June production has been organized as part of the Holland Festival and includes the participation of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.
DNO has lent its productions to foreign companies; recent DNO productions have been seen at the Metropolitan Opera, the Brooklyn Academy of Music, and the Lincoln Center Festival in New York, as well as the Adelaide Festival in Australia.