Recognized as one of the nation’s most competitive young artist programs, the Herndon Foundation Emerging Artists Program receives more than 700 applications each year and provides rising opera professionals with invaluable performance experience, individualized coaching, and mentorship from Virginia Opera’s artistic leadership. Throughout the season, Emerging Artists appear in mainstage productions, educational tours, donor events, community performances, and the company’s Variations series while working alongside internationally acclaimed guest artists and conductors.

“One of the greatest responsibilities of any opera company is investing in the artists who will shape the future of this art form,” said Adam Turner, Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of Virginia Opera. “Our Emerging Artists Program gives extraordinary young singers the opportunity to refine their craft while performing alongside established professionals in a supportive, demanding artistic environment. We’re thrilled to welcome this remarkable class of artists to Virginia Opera.”

Returning to the program are soprano Maggie Kinabrew, mezzo-soprano Melanie Dubil, and collaborative pianist Oleg Bellini.

Kinabrew returns following appearances last season as Clorinda in Cinderella (La Cenerentola), the High Priestess in Aida, the 2025 Variations series, and Dragon’s Breath. During the 2026-2027 season, she appears in The Three Little Pigs, Variations, the chorus of Pagliacci, and makes her role debut as Gretel in Hansel and Gretel. An Apprentice Artist with Sante Fe Opera, Kinabrew is the recipient of the 2025 “Facing Forward” Grant from the Jensen Foundation Competition and has also performed with The Glimmerglass Festival and Palm Beach Opera.

Dubil returns after last season’s portrayal of Tisbe in Cinderella (La Cenerentola) and her appearances in the 2025 Variations series and Dragon’s Breath. This season, she performs in The Three Little Pigs, Variations, the chorus of Pagliacci, and sings the title role of Hansel in Hansel and Gretel. She is the recipient of the Emerging Artist Award in the Lotte Lenya Competition and has appeared with Opera Colorado and Central City Opera.

Bellini returns as collaborative pianist for The Three Little Pigs and Variations. Previously a Resident Collaborative Pianist with Opera Colorado, he served as principal coach and pianist for the company’s educational outreach productions and worked on the music staff for numerous mainstage productions.

Joining the program for the first time are tenor Douglas Culclasure, baritone Joel Clemens, tenor Carlos Ahrens, soprano Nia Spaulding, mezzo-soprano Lindsey Polcyn, baritone Yichen Xue, and tenor Xiaojie Ji.

Among this year’s artists are winners and finalists of the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition, Resident and Apprentice Artists with companies including The Glimmerglass Festival, Santa Fe Opera, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Des Moines Metro Opera, and Sarasota Opera, as well as performers who have appeared with leading regional opera companies and symphony orchestras throughout the United States.

Throughout the season, the Emerging Artists will perform featured and supporting roles across Virginia Opera’s 2026-2027 season, with several artists taking on major principal assignments.

“Our goal is to prepare these artists for long, successful careers by giving them meaningful performance opportunities and individualized mentorship,” said Brandon Eldredge, Virginia Opera’s Director of Emerging Artists/Associate Conductor & Chorus Master. “Every season we’re inspired by the talent, curiosity, and dedication they bring to the rehearsal room. Audiences will have the opportunity to watch these exceptional young professionals at an exciting moment in their careers.”

Virginia Opera’s Herndon Foundation Emerging Artists Program has launched the careers of hundreds of singers who now perform on the world’s leading opera stages. Recent alumni include: Brian Jagde, Megan Marino, Jeni Houser, David Blalock, Kristen Choi, Hunter Enoch, Martin Bakari, Shannon Jennings, and Symone Harcum.

For more information about Virginia Opera’s 2026-2027 season, visit vaopera.org.

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About Virginia Opera
Virginia Opera, the official opera company of the Commonwealth of Virginia, is one of the finest regional opera companies in the nation and is the only company to perform regularly in three separate main stage venues: the Harrison Opera House in Norfolk, the Carpenter Theatre at the Dominion Energy Center in Richmond, and Center for the Arts at George Mason University in Fairfax. Organized in 1974, Virginia Opera is respected nationwide for the identification and presentation of the finest young artists, for the musical and dramatic integrity of its productions, and for the ingenuity and variety of its education and outreach programs.

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A frequent collaborator for the development of new opera, Ms. Havey has staged new works with Opera Philadelphia for their Double Exposure event, OPERA America’s New Works Forum, and spent three seasons as the Resident Stage Director for the North American New Opera Workshop. Ms. Havey is currently in development for a new work with composer Jennifer Jolley through the 2023 OPERA America Discovery Grant for Women Composers program.

Stephanie Havey is the Artistic Director at Finger Lakes Opera in Rochester, New York. In the 2025 season she joined the faculty of the University of Michigan as Opera Director and Assistant Professor. Previously she served as the Director of Opera Theater at Oberlin Conservatory. Since 2023, she has been a dramatic coach for the Houston Grand Opera Butler Opera Studio and the Young Artists Vocal Academy. Ms. Havey has also been a guest instructor for professional and academic Young Artist training programs including OPERA America’s Career Blueprints, Curtis Institute of Music, Mannes School of Music at The New School, Manhattan School of Music, NYU Tisch School of the Arts, UNSCA A. J. Fletcher Opera Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Central City Opera, Tulsa Opera, and Charlottesville Opera.

Previously, Bellini held the position of Resident Collaborative Pianist at Opera Colorado, where he served as the principal coach and pianist for The Barber of Seville, The Pirates of Penzance, Romeo and Juliet, Cinderella, The Elixir of Love, and Hansel and Gretel. At the Ellie Caulkins Opera House he was on music staff for La Bohème, La fille du régiment Tosca, Carmen, Rigoletto, Die tote Stadt, Turandot, Don Giovanni, Der fliegende Holländer, and Samson and Delilah. In addition to his music staff duties, Bellini was the répétiteur for the Student Matinee productions of Carmen, Rigoletto, and Don Giovanni. On the mainstage, he was the organist for Die tote Stadt and organist and celestist in Tosca.

Bellini has participated in summer festivals such as La Musica Lirica in Novafeltria, Italy, under the baton of Maestro Joseph Rescigno and the Stafford Opera Troupe Summer Program in Virginia. Previously, Bellini was the répétiteur for Mazowiecki Teatr Muzyczny Operetka’s production of Die Lustige Witwe in Warsaw, Poland, under the baton of Maestro Arif Dadashev.

In recital, Bellini recently performed as the pianist for mortal euphonies as a duo with mezzo-soprano Melanie Dubil as part of Art Song Colorado’s 2024 song recital series.

Most recently, Bellini appeared in various performances throughout Virginia in collaboration with Virginia Opera as second pianist in Service Provider as well as serving as principal pianist for their educational & community outreach tour of Dragon’s Breath. Additionally, he served as répétiteur for last season’s production of Aida. Bellini looks forward to continuing his work with Virginia Opera this season.

Bellini holds degrees in Piano Performance from Conservatorio Statale di Musica A. Vivaldi (BM, MM) in Italy as well as from the University of Georgia (MM) in Collaborative Piano.

He recently completed two seasons as a Marion Roose Pullin Studio Artist at Arizona Opera, where he performed Dandini in La Cenerentola, Schaunard in La bohème, Nardo in La finta giardiniera, and covered both Sharpless in Madama Butterfly and Amonasro in Aida. He has also appeared as Yamadori and the Imperial Commissioner in Madama Butterfly with Arizona Opera and Opera Grand Rapids. As a Renée Fleming Fellow at the Aspen Music Festival, he performed Marcello in La bohème. This summer, he joins The Glimmerglass Festival as a Resident Artist, appearing in Fellow Travelers (Senator Potter/General Airlie/Bartender) and Madama Butterfly（Imperial Commissioner).

On the concert stage, he has appeared as Baritone Soloist in Orff’s Carmina Burana with the Hunter College Choir, as Bass Soloist at The Kennedy Center in the RiverRun Festival, and at Santa Fe Opera in the Angel Island Oratorio.

A prizewinner in several of the field’s most prestigious competitions, Yichen is a National Finalist and Grant Winner of the Martorella Voice Scholarship (2025 & 2026), a Grant Winner of the Gerda Lissner Competition (2024), a Grant Winner of the Career Bridges Competition (2024), an Emerging Artist Award recipient from the Opera Index Competition (2023), and received an Encouragement Award at the Met Opera Laffont Competition – New York District (2025).

Originally from Anshan, China, Yichen holds a Master of Arts and a Bachelor of Music from Hunter College–CUNY and the Manhattan School of Music, respectively.

Passionate about new opera and highlighting underrepresented voices in the operatic canon. She has worked with Cincinnati Opera’s Opera Fusion New Works (OF:NW) in both In The Rush, commissioned with the Metropolitan Opera and workshopped the role of Niamara in Lalovavi which premiered at Cincinnati Opera in 2026. Nia has worked with Cincinnati Opera for two seasons 2024-2025, participating in opera ensembles of La Traviata, Tosca, Fiddler on the Roof, and Liverpool Oratorio.

In 2023 Nia was a fellow at the Lehrer Vocal Institute at the Music Academy of the West. Previously she was a participant at the International Summer Opera Festival (Morelia) where she performed the role of La Zia Principessa in Puccini’s Suor Angelica and was a part of Academia Vocale Lorenzo Malfatti, in Lucca, Italy, diving into Italian art song and language that same year.

Nia is a graduate from University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music for both her Bachelors of Music and Masters in Music in Voice Performance.

Last season, Joel joined Opera Memphis as a Handorf Company Artist to sing Fiorello (Il Barbiere di Siviglia), and premiere the role of the doctor in Robert Patterson and Jerre Dye’s Pretty Little Room. He concluded his season with Opera Memphis appearing in recital with acclaimed mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton, and sang the baritone solo in the Fauré Requiem with The Memphis Symphony Orchestra. He made his Boston Baroque debut singing La Voce and Gran Sacerdote (Idomeneo) before joining the Opera Theater of Saint Louis’ Gerdine Young Artist Program to sing Giuseppe Naccarelli (The Light in the Piazza) and cover Gregorio (Romeo and Juliette). He then returned to Chautauqua Opera Company to sing the role of Dmitri in Richard Wargo’s The Music Shop and make his Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra debut in their Opera and Pops concert.

In the 2024-2025 season, Joel returned to White Snake Projects to sing the roles of Marlow and Sam in the World Premiere production of Mary D. Watkins’ Is This America?, an opera which tells the story of the great Mississippi activist, Fannie Lou Hamer. He competed in the Metropolitan Opera Dominique Laffont Competition, winning in the Boston district and taking home second prize in the New England Regional round. As a Studio Artist with Chautauqua Opera Company, Joel sang Ginger Chap under the baton of Steven Osgood in the full orchestral workshop presentation of Missy Mazzoli and Royce Vavrek’s Lincoln in the Bardo, which is set to open the 2026-2027 season at the Metropolitan Opera. While at Chautauqua, Joel also covered Schaunard, Benoît, and Alcindoro (La Bohème), and sang in the ensemble for the workshop presentation of Sitcom, which will have its premiere this season at Opera Philadelphia.

Joel made his White Snake Projects debut in their 2023-2024 season singing several roles in their annual Let’s Celebrate! series, which draws on cultural traditions with shows that reflect their diverse community of artists. He was featured as the Baritone Soloist in the Holiday Pops singing Fantasia on Christmas Carols, where he made his Boston Symphony Hall Debut under the baton of Keith Lockhart. In the Spring of 2024, Joel returned to Boston Conservatory at Berklee as a guest artist to sing Demetrius in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and reprised the role of Manfred in For a Look or a Touch with West End Lyric.

Joel believes in the importance of arts education, which has led him to serve as a Teaching Artist in three consecutive iterations of Chautauqua Opera Company’s Opera in the Schools Program. In this role, Joel performed in touring children’s operas and led classroom lessons about opera to elementary school children. Joel is a proud alumnus of the Seagle Festival Emerging Artist Program, where he performed the roles of Hawkins Fuller (Fellow Travelers), and Charles Ives in the premiere of Robert Carl and Russel Banks’ Harmony. During his graduate studies at Boston Conservatory at Berklee, he was a recipient of the Miles A. Fish III Scholarship, and performed the roles of Conte Almaviva (Le Nozze di Figaro), Hannah Younger (As One), Sid (Albert Herring), Publio (La Clemenza di Tito), and Manfred (For a Look or a Touch). At his Alma Mater, James Madison University, he received the Showalter Scholar Award, and performed the roles of Valentin (Faust), Pirate King (The Pirates of Penzance), Joseph De Rocher (Dead Man Walking), Captain Corcoran (H.M.S. Pinafore), Guglielmo (Così fan Tutte), Koko (The Mikado), and Maximilian (Candide).

Joel is originally from Ashburn, Virginia and currently resides in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

In the 2025-26 season, Culclasure appeared on the studio mainstage as Count Belfiore in Mozart’s early gem La finta giardiniera and as Fabian and David in Jake Heggie’s If I Were You. Previously with the studio, Culclasure portrayed Spärlich (and covered Fenton) in Nicolai’s Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor (April 2025) and created the role of Shadow Advisor in the workshop of Ashi Day’s The Fishwife (February/April 2025). Additionally, he has appeared in the UMD School of Music’s Bach Cantata series, singing the tenor solo in BWV 45, 81, and 161. Outside of the studio, Culclasure was recognized with an encouragement award at the 2025 Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition (South Carolina District).

In the summer of 2025, Culclasure joined Des Moines Metro Opera as an Apprentice Artist and was seen in the choruses of Wagner’s Der fliegende Holländer, Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress, and Janaček’s The Cunning Little Vixen. Additionally, Culclasure performed scenes from Le Comte Ory, L’italiana in Algeri (Lindoro), and Albert Herring.

While at Northwestern University, Culclasure was an active participant in OPUS (Opera Projects for Undergraduate Singers), a student organization that served as Northwestern’s all-undergraduate opera company. He served on the OPUS executive board for three years, serving two terms as PR/Social Media Chair and one term as Treasurer. With OPUS, he appeared as Florville (Il Signor Bruschino), Gernando (L’isola disabitata), Lamparilla (El berberillo de Labapiès), Vanderdendur/Crook/Chorus (Candide), and 6th Spirit (Cendrillon/Massenet). Also at Northwestern, Culclasure was frequently seen on the mainstage with Northwestern Opera Theater, starring as Ferrando in Così fan tutte and Harlequin in Ullmann’s Der Kaiser von Atlantis. Also with Northwestern Opera Theater, he was seen in the choruses of Heggie’s If I Were You, Puccini’s La bohème, Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte and Handel’s Alcina. Also at Northwestern, Culclasure performed in a student project production of Mozart’s La clemenza di Tito in the title role and as Tom Rakewell in a recital performance of scene one of Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress. Culclasure performed with the University Chorale and Bienen Contemporary/Early Vocal Ensembles and appeared as a soloist in Janaček’s Otče naš and BWV 4. Outside of Northwestern, Culclasure was seen as The Magician in Menotti’s masterpiece The Consul with Third Eye Theater Ensemble and appeared as Monostatos/1st Armored Man/2nd Priest (Die Zauberflöte), Dr. Caius (Falstaff), and Flaminio (Il trionfo dell’onore/Scarlatti) with summer training programs in Europe.

Outside of opera, you’re most likely to find Culclasure riding roller coasters at amusement parks across the country, catching up on the Big Brother live feeds, or working on a foreign language. Culclasure has a passion for language education and has worked for many years as a counselor and instructor at the Concordia Language Villages Russian program “Лесное Озеро/Lesnoe Ozero” in Bemidji, Minnesota. In addition to Russian, Culclasure enjoys proficiency in Spanish and a working proficiency in Italian. Doug also speaks conversationally in French and has studied German, Dutch, Japanese, and Ukrainian. He is originally from Greenville, South Carolina.