Heppner, Ben

Ben Heppner was born January 14, 1956 in Marraisville (British Columbia) in a family of Mennonite immigrants. His family later moved to Dawson Creek. Since 1975, Heppner studied at the University of British Columbia and in 1979 won the CBC Young Talent Competition with Don Ottavio’s aria from Mozart 's Don Giovanni . From 1981 to 1982, he attended the Opera School of the University of Toronto. 1981 was the year of his debut on the opera stage in the role of Rodrigo ( Verdi Othello , in the Vancouver Opera), and from 1982 to 1984 he sang in the Canadian Opera . Since that time, Heppner has performed with a wide repertoire of opera and other classical vocal parts, in particular, specializing in Wagner's music. If at the beginning of his career his tenor was lyrical, then over time he switched to parts for a dramatic tenor. Since 1998, one of the main roles in his repertoire is the party of Tristan in Tristan and Isolde ; critics call him the best Tristan in history ^[1] . Among the other central parties are Heppner Othello, Lohengrin (Wagner's Lohengrin , in which he, in particular, made his debut in 1989 on the European stage) and Aeneas ( Berlioz 's Trojans ).

Heppner regularly collaborates with leading American opera companies, including the Metropolitan Opera . With this theater, Heppner recorded video productions of Fidelio , Tristan and Isolda, and the Nuremberg Mastersingers . Since 2001, he has signed an exclusive contract with the recording company Deutsche Grammophon , for which he also recorded the solo album Airs Français with the Juneau Prize in the same year with the London Symphony Orchestra .

Heppner performed at the closing ceremonies of the two Winter Olympics: 2006 in Turin (playing the Canadian anthem ) and 2010 in Vancouver (with the Olympic anthem ).

Ben Heppner is an honorary doctor of several universities: his alma mater is the University of British Columbia (1997), the University of Toronto and McGill University in Montreal (2002), York University and Memorial University of Newfowland (2003), McMaster Diviniti College (2005) and the University Queens (2006).

In 1999, Heppner became a member of the Order of Canada , in 2002 he was promoted to officer, and in 2008 - a companion to the Order of Canada, which is the highest degree of this award.

Heppner twice, in 2000 and 2006, won the Juno Award for Best Classical Music Album. He is also the winner of the Grammy Award for the best opera recording (1998), the International Emmy Award for the best gaming program and the Gramophone award in the Record of the Year nomination (1999) ^[1] .

• Ben Heppner (Peoples.ru)
• Heppner, Ben (The Canadian Encyclopedia)