Ben Heppner

Heppner was born in Murrayville, BC and lived in Dawson Creek. He began his musical studies at UBC and has gone on to become one of the most prominent contemporary dramatic tenors. He is associated particularly with the Wagnerian repertoire, but he performs a wide range of operas from the German, French and Italian canons. Heppner performed frequently with major international opera companies, including the New York Metropolitan Opera. He specializes in some of the most challenging of operatic roles, including, in addition to Tristan, the title role in Lohengrin, the title role in Otello, and Berlioz’s Aeneas. Heppner was awarded the National Arts Centre Award and a companion award of the Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards in 1995. He was made a member of the Order of Canada in 1999. Heppner announced his retirement from singing in April 2014.