Arizona Opera Cast Members & Creatives

Marlen Nahhas, recently praised for her “impassioned soprano” (San Francisco Chronicle), is currently a second year member of the Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program at Washington National Opera. Highlights of her 2019/20 Season include Pamina in the Emerging Artist performance of The Magic Flute at WNO and a debut at Opera Naples as Musetta in La bohème. During her first season at WNO she sang Violetta in the Emerging Artist Performance of WNO’s new production of La traviata under the direction of Francesca Zambello, Flamingo in Tesori’s The Lion, The Unicorn and Me, Queer Kid in the world premiere of Sankaram’s Taking Up Serpents, and a Concert of Comedic Masterpieces under the baton of Maestro Joseph Colaneri. Additional debuts included Musetta in La bohème at Finger Lakes Opera and excerpts from La bohème with the National Symphony Orchestra conducted by NSO Music Director Maestro Gianandrea Noseda.

In the summer of 2018, she was a member of the Merola Opera program at the San Francisco Opera where she performed scenes from Il tabarro, Don Giovanni, Don Carlo, and La rondine in the Schwabacher and Grand Finale concerts. During the 2017/18 Season, Nahhas was a Resident Artist at Lyric Opera of Kansas City where she performed the Page in Rigoletto and covered Tatyana in Eugene Onegin. Additionally, she made her Kansas City Symphony debut singing excerpts from The Marriage of Figaro. In April 2018, Marlen was a National Semi-Finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and performed on the Metropolitan Opera stage. During the summers of 2016 and 2017, Marlen was an Apprentice Artist with Central City Opera where her assignments included covering the title role in Tosca and Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte.

A native of Houston, Texas, Marlen is a graduate of Oklahoma City University and Indiana University. While completing her studies she performed the title role in Madame Butterfly, Rosalinde in Die Fledermaus, and Violetta in La traviata.