Ben Heppner

Heppner, of Mennonite descent, was born in Murrayville, British Columbia, and lived in Dawson Creek, British Columbia.[1] He began his musical studies at the University of British Columbia and first attracted national attention when he won the CBC Talent Festival in 1979.

He is associated with the Wagnerian repertoire, but he performed a range of operas from the German, French and Italian canons.

Heppner performed frequently with opera companies in the United States (including the New York Metropolitan Opera) and Europe, and concert appearances with symphony orchestras. He has appeared in the DVD recordings of the Met's productions of Beethoven's Fidelio, Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, and Wagner's Tristan und Isolde, three of his signature roles. He first performed Tristan with the Seattle Opera in 1998, and in November 1998 with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. Heppner also performed and recorded Wagner's "Gotterdammerung" with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Sir Simon Rattle. He specialized in operatic roles including the title part in Lohengrin, the title part in Otello, and Berlioz's Aeneas. He performed Beethoven's "Fidelio" at the Salzburg Festival with Sir Georg Solti in 1996, and recorded the work that same year with Sir Colin Davis conducting. Also with Sir Colin Davis, Heppner recorded the role of Aeneas in Berlioz' "Les Troyens".

Heppner has recorded on multiple labels, participating in complete operas and solo albums of arias and songs. He was signed to an exclusive contract with Deutsche Grammophon (DG). His first solo recording for DG, made in 2001, was Airs Français. It won a Juno Award.

Heppner has received Honorary Doctorates from Queen's University (2006), McMaster Divinity College (2005), York University (2003), Memorial University of Newfoundland (2003), University of Toronto (2002), McGill University (2002), and University of British Columbia (1997).

Heppner was awarded the National Arts Centre Award, a companion award of the Governor General's Performing Arts Awards in 1995.[2] He was made a Member of the Order of Canada in 1999, was promoted to Officer in 2002 and Companion in 2008. He performed at closing ceremonies of two Winter Olympic Games. In Turin in 2006, he sang the Canadian national anthem. Four years later, in Vancouver, he sang the Olympic Hymn. Both times, he mixed English and French. In June 2016, Heppner was made a laureate of the Governor General's Performing Arts Awards, with a Lifetime Achievement Award in Classical Music.[3]

Heppner announced his retirement from singing in April 2014.[4] Heppner felt unable to be a "part-time singer", feeling that "No matter how often you sing, if you're going to sing at a good level, a quality level, you've got to keep it up all the time. And I was finding that to be a little bit difficult. So that, plus the fact that I've been experiencing a little bit of unreliability in my voice – and that causes some anxieties – I decided it was time".[4]

Post-retirement, Heppner accepted a brief role in a musical production of Titanic at the Princess of Wales Theatre in Toronto in May 2015.[5]

Heppner became a broadcaster on Canadian radio, hosting Saturday Afternoon at the Opera and Backstage with Ben Heppner on CBC Radio.[4] He retired from broadcasting in September 2021.[6]

The Ben Heppner Vocal Music Academy at Heather Heights Junior Public School

Heppner plans to continue hosting master classes and coaching singers for roles, and appearing on voice competition juries.[4] The Ben Heppner Vocal Music Academy, a public school in Scarborough, named after Heppner, opened in 2012.[7]

• Order of Canada Citation
• Reaney, James (September 15, 2007). "Opera star Heppner has huge fan in pianist Hess". The London Free Press. Retrieved September 15, 2007.