Several years ago I went to Toronto to see my friend Jason Hildebrand do a one-man play (that was terrific). Jason couldn’t pick me up from the airport, so he sent a friend. I came out by baggage claim and saw a man holding one of my books up like a sign, so I went over and introduced myself. He said his name was Ben, and he’d be driving me around for the next couple days. Ben and I had to run some errands and so made small talk. I asked how Jason’s play was coming along, but Ben didn’t know as he’d just returned from Paris where he’d been working for a few months. I asked what he’d been working on in Paris, and he said he’d been in an opera (I assumed it was some small production. How many times do you meet an actual professional opera singer?) I asked what Opera, and he said McTeague (I then knew he was a pro, but I assumed he sang in the chorus, as how many times do you actually meet somebody who sings lead in an opera?) I asked what part he sang, and he answered McTeague. He played the lead tenor. I knew then I was being driven around Toronto by, quite possibly, the greatest living tenor in the world. I’d later find out this was true.
Spending a couple days with Ben and his wife was terrific. He is a delightful, charming, funny and talented man who seems to channel all the strength of heaven when he sings. Ben always wanted to sing in the Opera and had trained hard toward that end, but it wasn’t until his wife made him quite his carpentry job and go to New York to enter a contest that he realized he had what it took. He won the contest, and was later asked to fill in for Luciano Pavarotti when the tenor fell ill. He received glowing reviews, and has since been considered one of the greatest living high tenors, if not the greatest. He performs in New York, London and Paris almost exclusively, save many dates he performs each year in small churches across Canada, where he sings for free.
If you happen to live in New York, London or Paris, or for that matter attend a small, rural church in Canada, keep an eye out for Ben. He’ll be coming through shortly. Until then, you can pick up his records wherever you buy classical music. I’m happy to share Ben Heppner with you this morning:
