OPERA BIO

Will Upham is emerging as a versatile artist recognized for his keen dramatic instincts, vocal stamina, and commitment to storytelling on the operatic stage. In the 2024–2025 season, Will made a series of important professional debuts. He sang Herod in Strauss’s Salome with Union Avenue Opera, a role he first covered at Des Moines Metro Opera in 2024. That same summer, he returned to DMMO to cover Steuermann in Wagner’s Der fliegende Holländer. With Indianapolis Opera, he performed Action and covered Tony in West Side Story, continuing a growing relationship with the company where he had already been featured in productions such as Monostatos (and Tamino cover) in Die Zauberflöte, Donald Hopewell in Douglas Moore’s Gallantry, and the VA Psychiatrist in Veteran Journeys. Additionally noteworthy, with Indiana University Opera Theater he performed Beadle Bamford in Sweeney Todd and created the role of Comrade Belka in the workshop premiere of Hennessy’s Swimming in the Dark. At The Glimmerglass Festival, Will performed as Benvolio and covered Roméo in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette.

Will’s international experience includes Rinuccio in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi and covering Rodolfo in La bohème with La Musica Lirica in Italy, where he also covered Alfredo in La traviata. With SMU Lyric Theatre, he performed The Prince in The True Story of Cinderella and Rev. Samuel Parris in Robert Ward’s The Crucible. At DePauw Opera, his roles include Il Principe Aprile in Respighi’s La bella dormente nel bosco, Le Prince Charmant in Cendrillon, Don Curzio in Le nozze di Figaro, and Lippo Fiorentino in Street Scene. His early training also encompassed work in musical theatre and operetta, including performances at the College Light Opera Company in Mary Poppins, The Red Mill, Bye Bye Birdie, and Crazy for You, as well as Eddie Souther in Sister Act with DePauw Theatre. As an Education and Outreach Artist with The Dallas Opera (2021–2022), Will toured schools and communities as Nemorino in a shortened, English-language version of L’elisir d’amore, an experience that continues to shape his artistic philosophy and belief in opera’s ability to connect across cultures and generations.

On the concert stage, Will has appeared frequently as a tenor soloist. In 2025, he sang Jesus in Beethoven’s Christ on the Mount of Olives, the tenor solos in Beethoven’s Mass in C major with the Masterwork Chorus in Morristown, NJ, and Uriel in Haydn’s The Creation at Second Presbyterian Church in Indianapolis. Recent credits also include Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Carmel Symphony Orchestra, Puccini’s Messa di Gloria at Second Presbyterian, Schütz’s Musikalische Exequien with the IU Conductors Chorus, Schnittke’s Requiem with IU NOTUS, and Rachmaninoff’s All-Night Vigil at Highland Park United Methodist Church in Dallas.

Will completed a Performer Diploma in Voice at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, studying with Peter Volpe. He previously earned a Master of Music in Vocal Performance from Southern Methodist University, where he studied with the renowned heldentenor Clifton Forbis, and a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from DePauw University, where he trained under Caroline Smith. His summers have included work as an Apprentice Artist with Des Moines Metro Opera (2024, 2025), Young Artist with The Glimmerglass Festival (2023), and Young Artist with La Musica Lirica in Italy (2021, 2022). Born in Franklin and raised in Bedford, Indiana, Will currently resides in Indianapolis.

VIDEO (more coming soon)

RESUME

CAREER INFLUENCES

Conductors:  Dominick DiOrio, Alfred Savia, Paul Phillips, Marcello Cormio

Directors:  Michael Shell, Simon Godwin, Carol Vaness, Hank Hammett

Voice Teachers:  Peter Volpe (current), Clifton Forbis, Caroline Smith

Coaches:  Mary Dibbern, Brian Bentley, Jeffrey Price, Amanda Hopson