Iranian conductor and pianist Sahar Nouri is the Music Director of Lamont Opera Theater at University of Denver since 2019. She also serves at Opera Colorado as chorus master and assistant conductor since 2016. Ms. Nouri is the founder and director of Dandelion Opera Institute.
Most recently, Ms. Nouri has conducted performances of La fille du régiment, Don Giovanni, Rigoletto, Carmen, and Il barbiere di Siviglia at Opera Colorado. She has also led productions of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Dido and Aeneas, Der Schauspieldirektor, Die Zauberflöte, Alcina, Les mamelles de Tirésias, Cabildo, and The Little Prince at Lamont Opera Theater.
As chorus master and cover conductor, she has been involved in over 20 productions at Opera Colorado including Turandot, Die Tote Stadt, Samson et Dalila, The Flying Dutchman, The Shining, Tosca, Cavalleria rusticana, Pagliacci, Le nozze di Figaro, La traviata, Falstaff, Il barbiere di Siviglia, La bohème, and La fanciulla del West.
Previously, Ms. Nouri has served on the music staff at San Francisco Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Dallas Opera, Philadelphia Orchestra at Bravo!Vail, Opera Parallèle, Opera North Carolina, Glimmerglass Festival, Utah Opera, Aspen Opera Theatre, Prague Summer Nights Festival, Opera St. Petersburg, Opera Steamboat, Merola Opera, Boston Conservatory of Music, and San Francisco Conservatory of Music.
In addition to the classic opera repertoire, Ms. Nouri has been involved in world premieres of many new operas including Today It Rains (Kaminsky), The Prince of Players (Floyd), O Columbia (Spears), Steal a Pencil for Me (Cohen). She has conducted works of living composers such as As One (Kaminsky), Glory Denied (Cipullo). Also, she has commissioned and curated a biannual series of song recitals in collaboration with composer Sean Friar.
An active performer, Ms. Nouri has given recitals around the US alongside international stars Mane Galoyan, Heidi Melton, and Matthew Polenzani. A multi-lingual, she has studied in Italy, Czechia, and Austria and is frequently in demand as a language coach. Ms. Nouri is a former violinist who has performed with Tehran Philharmonic Orchestra and has won several prizes, for both violin and piano, in national music festivals and competitions in Iran.
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