Gallantry & Veteran Journeys Cast

Lola/Wife of Veteran- Victoria Korovljev
Victoria Korovljev is a rising young soprano with a warm lyrical timbre. She is the Resident Artist Soprano for Indianapolis Opera this Spring of 2023, where she is debuting as Zweite Dame and covering Pamina in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte. Victoria celebrated her Caribbean heritage with a debut as Elsa in the world premiere of The Pirate’s Daughter, commissioned by Romanza Lyric Opera. In the Fall of 2022, she was featured as Siren in Minnesota Opera’s production of Rinaldo. Also in 2022, she made her debut with Opera Grand Rapids as Female Soloist 2 in the world premiere of Stinney: An American Execution, which was recorded for PBS. In addition, Victoria made her role debut of Countess Almaviva with Trentino Music Festival. At TMF, she placed as a Finalist in their Young Artist Competition. Most recently, Victoria qualified as an alternate finalist with the Opera Birmingham Voice Competition. Furthermore, with much acclaim from the judges, Victoria qualified as a Semi-Finalist in the Palm Springs Opera Guild Competition and Jacques Offenbach Grand Prix. In the upcoming 2022-2023 season, Thursday Musical of Minneapolis selected Victoria as a featured solo artist in their Artist Series. During the pandemic, Victoria recorded two episodes introducing children to opera for Minnesota Public Radio and Minnesota Opera. Shortly thereafter, she was a visiting artist with Northern Light Opera Company, where she sung the character Catherine in Pippin. Other recent engagements include singing the role of Frasquita, as well as being a Finalist in the American Prize Competition for Women in Opera. Before the shutdown, Victoria took part in the workshops and premiering ensemble for Minnesota Opera’s newest commission, Edward Tulane.

Announcer/ VA Social Worker - Katherine Kincaid
Katherine is a mezzo-soprano from Jacksonville, Florida. She is pleased be a resident artist with the Indianapolis Opera and is looking forward to singing 3rd lady in Die Zauberflöte. She recently performed as Sally in Die Fledermaus with the First Coast Opera. Katherine was a resident artist at the Toledo Opera where she made her professional debut as Flora in La Traviata. Also with the Toledo Opera, she performed as Dorabella in Così fan tutte, and Figara in the children's opera The Stylist of Seville. Katherine graduated from the University of Maryland with a Master of Music in Opera, and Florida State University with a Bachelor of Music in Voice Performance. Her past roles include Kate Julian (Owen Wingrave), Ramiro (La finta giardiniera), Orphée (Orphée et Euridice), and Mrs. Lowe (The Manchurian Candidate). She also performed in the world premiere of Four Freedoms by Joseph C. Phillip Jr. Katherine has performed with the Maryland Opera Studio, the National Orchestral Institute, Seagle Music Colony, Oberlin in Italy, Classical singing and New York in June, and the CCM Opera Bootcamp. She is also a classically trained pianist and accomplished singer/songwriter. She has self-produced original music and performed at venues around Nashville, Jacksonville, and Toledo. Katherine currently studies with mezzo-soprano, Delores Ziegler.

Donald/ VA Psychiatrist - Will Upham
Born in Franklin and raised in Bedford, native Hoosier Will Upham is pursuing his Performer Diploma in Voice at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music and studying with Peter Volpe. In May 2022, he graduated from Southern Methodist University with a Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance under the tutelage of Clifton Forbis. In May 2020, he graduated from DePauw University with a Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance under the tutelage of Caroline Smith. Will is a former Education Artist at the Dallas Opera where he portrayed the role of Nemorino in Donizetti’s The Elixir of Love. His other recent roles include Rinuccio in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi and Rodolfo (cover) in Puccini’s La bohème with La Musica Lirica in Novafeltria, Italy, Reverend Samuel Parris in Ward’s The Crucible with Southern Methodist University, and Alfredo (cover) in Verdi’s La traviata with La Musica Lirica in Baraboo, Wisconsin. Will is a current Tenor Section Leader at Second Presbyterian Church in Indianapolis under the direction of Dr. Michelle L. Louer. He is also a former member of Indiana University’s NOTUS, an award-winning contemporary vocal ensemble under the direction of Dr. Dominick DiOrio.

Dr. Gregg/ Vietnam Veteran - Dalton Woody
Dalton Woody, a baritone originally from Western North Carolina, received his undergraduate degree in Vocal Performance from Mars Hill University and his Master’s degree in Opera Performance from the University of Houston. Dalton has appeared in supporting roles with the Asheville Lyric Opera as Action in Bernstein’s West Side Story, Fiorello in Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia, and The Speaker in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte. While attending the University of Houston, he sang the roles of Francis Nurse in Robert Ward’s The Crucible, Cosimo in John Musto’s The Inspector, Ali in Rossini’s L’italiana in Algeri, Leandro in Prokofiev’s The Love for Three Oranges, and Charles Surface in the world premiere of the University of Houston’s Production of The School For Scandal. In addition to opera, Dalton was the bass soloist with the Symphony of Southeast Texas for their 2020 performance of the Faure Requiem. Dalton joined Houston Grand Opera as a chorister for their 2020 production of Verdi’s Aïda and returned for their 2022 production of Puccini’s Turandot. During the Summer of 2021, Dalton was engaged as an Emerging Artist with Charlottesville Opera, where he sang the role of Alcindoro in Puccini’s La Bohème. Dalton returned as an Emerging Artist to Charlottesville Opera the following summer where he sang the role of Franz the Butler and covered Captain von Trapp in Rogers and Hammerstein’s The Sound of Music and sang the role of Cascada in Franz Lehár’s The Merry Widow.

Vietnam Veteran - Shederick Whipple
Shederick Whipple, tenor, has performed throughout the United States, Europe and South America. His roles include The Starkeeper in Carousel (Rodgers and Hammerstein), Tony in Master Class (McNally), Tamino in Die Zauberflöte (Mozart), Frederic in Pirates of Penzance (Gilbert and Sullivan), Ferrando in Così fan Tutte (Mozart), and Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi (Puccini). In oratorio, Dr. Whipple has been soloist in Requiem (Mozart), Messiah (Handel), and other works. Some performing venues that Dr. Whipple has performed as soloist include: Indianapolis Opera, Kokomo Symphony, Lexington Opera Theatre, Project Opera, Library of Fine Arts (in Moscow, Russia), Russian American Christian University, Teatro Sucre (in Cuenca,Ecuador), Bratislava Orchestra (in the Czech Republic), Library of Fine Arts (in Moscow, Russia),Russian American Christian University (Moscow, Russia), Iglesia Santa Maria de Maó (in Palma de Menorca, Spain) Da Corneto Opera, Capitol Opera, College of the Mainland Community Theatre, Marion Philharmonic Orchestra, Huntington University Orchestra, Orkestra Project, Chagrin Falls Chamber Orchestra, the Cleveland Art Museum, and Macon Civic Chorale. He joined Indianapolis Opera in the Chorus in the 2018 production of La bohème. He was an ensemble member in Camelot and Carousel and was a chorus member in Madama Butterfly. Dr. Whipple is currently the Education Curriculum Advisor and serves as Associate Chorus Conductor for Indianapolis Opera.

Gallantry & Veteran Journeys Artistic Team

Dr. Jessica Burton - Resident Assistant Director
Jessica is excited to be working with Indianapolis Opera as Resident Assistant Opera Director. She has assistant directed at Austin Opera, Amarillo Opera, LOLA (Local Opera Local Artists), UT Austin, Spotlight on Opera, and FAVA France. Past directing credits include Little Women, At the Statue of Venus, Speed Dating Tonight, Das Lied von der Erde (UT Austin), Cendrillon, Pomme d’api (FAVA France), Angels in America, The Laramie Project and Bent (Avenue 10). She has a Doctor of Musical Arts in Opera Direction from UT Texas at Austin, as well as a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance and a Bachelor of Science in Technical Theatre from West Texas A&M University. Jessica’s passion is cultivating community engagement among the next generation of opera goers.

Maestro Alfred Savia
Artistic Advisor and Principal Conductor of the Indianapolis Opera, Alfred Savia is no stranger to the Indianapolis musical scene. Savia served as Associate Conductor of the Indianapolis Symphony and Artistic Director of Symphony On the Prairie from 1990 to1996. He has returned nearly every season since then to guest conduct the ISO most notably in their annual “Star Spangled Symphony” concerts at Conner Prairie over the 4th of July holiday.

Maestro Savia served as the Music Director of the Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra for 31 seasons. Under his leadership the Orchestra added a Youth Orchestra program, Philharmonic Chorus, and a full-time String Quartet. He initiated many new programs including Messiah, Nutcracker, Music Alive residencies, and fully staged opera presentations. Savia’s American guest conducting appearances include the Orchestras of Saint Louis, Detroit, Phoenix, Columbus, Memphis, San Antonio, Louisville, New Orleans and Naples (FL). Internationally, he has conducted orchestras extensively in Europe (Florence, Belgrade), Central and South America (Santiago, Montevideo, Quito; Toluca, and Jalapa in Mexico), and Asia (Korea Philharmonic). Festival appearances include Chicago’s Grant Park Symphony and the Wintergreen Summer Music Festival. He recorded Russell Peck’s The Thrill of the Orchestra with London’s Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and, with pianist Antonio Pompa-Baldi and the Evansville Philharmonic, Respighi’s Piano Concerto.

Migeun Chung
Dr. Migeun Chung, collaborative pianist/coach, was named music director for Opera Scenes at MOSI in Winter 2021, répétiteur/pianist for A Midsummer Night's Dream at Opera NUOVA in summer 2019, coach/pianist at Opera in the Ozarks in 2018, and has participated in multiple opera and musical theatre productions at Bayview Music Festival. Her recent engagements include working with Marcello Cormio at the Opera Lucca (Puccini's Suor Angelica) and Gabriel Dobner at AIMS of 2022 as a lieder pianist. In the upcoming 2022 season at MOSI, Dr. Chung will return as a pianist-coach for Così fan tutte and a Music Director and Pianist-Coach for Opera Scenes Showcase. Past productions include George Frideric Handel’s Rinaldo, Johann Strauss’ Die Fledermaus, Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Douglas Moore’s The Ballad of Baby Doe, Cinderella (a Pastiche) of Rossini and Massenet, Bizet’s Carmen, Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro, Gréty’s Zémire et Azor, Kurt Weill’s Berlin to Broadway, and Stephen Schwartz’s Pippin, and Dunean Sheik’s Spring Awakening. Dr. Chung frequently plays in master classes and continues to collaborate with internationally renowned artists, music directors, and coaches at NUOVA, the CoOperative program, and Classic Lyric Arts in Italy. Dr. Chung holds a Doctorate and Master's degree in piano performance, with focused studies in collaborative piano, from the University of North Texas, where she received the Eastman Piano Scholarship for International Students, Patsy C. & Fred W. Patterson Scholarship, Larry Walz Piano Scholarship, and a graduate assistantship under Adam Wodnicki. She recently earned a second Master's degree in collaborative piano from Carnegie Mellon University, where she also served as opera rehearsal/principal pianist. In the spring of 2022, she will return to Indianapolis Opera as Resident Artist Pianist.