Bio
Iranian conductor and pianist Sahar Nouri has been Music Director of Lamont Opera Theater at University of Denver since 2019. She has also served at Opera Colorado as Chorus Master & Assistant Conductor since 2016. Ms. Nouri is the founder/director of Dandelion Opera Institute.
At the University of Denver, Ms. Nouri has conducted productions of Gianni Schicchi, Suor Angelica, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Magic Flute, Alcina, Cabildo, Les mamelles de Tirésias, and The Little Prince. Her work with Opera Colorado has included productions of Il trovatore, La fille du régiment, Samson and Delilah, The Flying Dutchman, Don Giovanni, Turandot, Die tote Stadt, Rigoletto, Carmen, The Shining, Tosca, Cavalleria rusticana, Pagliacci, The Marriage of Figaro, La traviata, Falstaff, The Barber of Seville, La bohème, La fanciulla del West, April in Paris, and the world premiere of Steal a Pencil for Me by Gerald Cohen.
As a guest conductor, Ms. Nouri’s 2025-26 Season includes La traviata at Sacramento Philharmonic and Opera, Die Zauberflöte at Prague Summer Nights Festival, and Le nozze di Figaro at the University of Michigan.
Previously, Ms. Nouri has been part of the music staff at San Francisco Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Dallas Opera, Philadelphia Orchestra at Bravo! Vail, Opera Parallèle, North Carolina Opera, Glimmerglass Festival, Utah Opera, Aspen Opera Theatre, Opera Steamboat, Merola Opera, Boston Conservatory of Music, and San Francisco Conservatory of Music. An active performer, she has given numerous recitals around the US including those alongside international stars Mane Galoyan, Heidi Melton, and Matthew Polenzani. A multi-lingual coach, she has studied in Czechia, Italy, and Austria and is frequently in demand as a language coach.
Ms. Nouri is a former violinist who has performed with the Tehran Philharmonic Orchestra and has won several prizes, for both violin and piano, in national music festivals and competitions in Iran.