Ben Heppner is recognized worldwide as the finest dramatic tenor before the public today.  He excels in the most challenging roles, from Wagner’s Tristan and Lohengrin to Verdi’s Otello and Berlioz’s Aeneas.  He is acclaimed in music capitals around the world for his beautiful voice, intelligent musicianship, and sparkling dramatic sense. His performances on the opera stage, in concert with the world’s leading orchestras, in the most prestigious recital venues, and in recordings have set new standards in his demanding repertoire.

In the current season, Mr. Heppner returns to the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden to sing the title role in a new production of Tristan und Isolde. Mr. Heppner can then be heard as Lohengrin at Deutsche Oper Berlin, and Siegfried in Götterdämmerung at the Salzburg Easter Festival. He returns to the United States to create the role of Captain Ahab in the world premiere of Jake Heggie’s Moby Dick for Dallas Opera.  He finishes his season in Europe, appearing as Ghermann in Pique Dame at Barcelona’s Gran Teatre del Liceu, and in concert performances of Act II of Tristan und Isolde with the Orchestra of the 18th Century at the BBC Proms in London and at the Festspielhaus in Baden-Baden.

Mr. Heppner began the 2008–2009 season with a recital tour of Northern Canada, culminating in a concert at The Chan Centre for the Performing Arts with the CBC Radio Orchestra celebrating the 100^th Anniversary of The University of British Columbia.  Mr. Heppner returned to the Metropolitan Opera for performances of Ghermann in Tchaikovsky’s The Queen of Spades. He also appears in the Metropolitan Opera’s 125^th Anniversary Gala.  He performed recitals throughout Europe at prestigious venues, including the Teatro Real in Madrid, the Palais Garnier in Paris, the Philharmonie in Berlin, Teatro alla Scala in Milan, and the Barbican Centre in London.  He closed the season with his first performances of Siegfried in Götterdämmerung at the Aix-en-Provence Festival.

Ben Heppner made more than twenty-five concert appearances throughout Europe and North America in the 2007–2008 season, beginning with recitals throughout Ontario, Canada and a Gala Concert at the National Arts Centre, Ottawa.  He joined the Philharmonic Orchestra of La Scala and Riccardo Chailly on a North American tour culminating at Carnegie Hall.  He sang Elgar’s Dream of Gerontius with the Boston Symphony conducted by Sir Colin Davis and with the Vancouver Symphony.  Mr. Heppner sang Sibelius songs with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Esa-Pekka Salonen with performances at Salle Pleyel in Paris, and the Barbican Centre in London.  He joined the Berlin Philharmonic to sing Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde at the Berlin Philharmonie, Carnegie Hall, and Symphony Hall in Boston and was also heard in recital at Grand Théâtre de Genève and Baltimore’s Shriver Hall.  Mr. Heppner returned to the Metropolitan Opera for performances of Tristan und Isolde with James Levine.  He finished the season singing his first staged performances of the title role in Siegfried with Sir Simon Rattle and the Berlin Philharmonic at the Aix-en-Provence Festival and further performances of Das Lied von der Erde in San Sebastian, Spain.

In August 1998, Mr. Heppner sang his first performances of Tristan und Isolde in a new production for Seattle Opera. The international press was ablaze with accolades for “a Tristan for the new millennium.” He subsequently sang this heroic role at the Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Berlin State Opera, Salzburg Easter Festival, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, and in a new Peter Sellars production for Paris Opera.  He has been associated with the Wagner repertoire since 1988, when he won the first Birgit Nilsson prize, and the following year, when he sang Lohengrin with the Royal Swedish Opera and at the Bolshoi Theatre.

Many of Ben Heppner’s greatest portrayals have been revealed in new productions at the Metropolitan Opera, which include Robert Wilson’s production of Lohengrin, Walther von Stolzing in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Florestan in Fidelio, Aeneas in Les Troyens, Gherman in The Queen of Spades, and the Prince in Rusalka.  He has also been heard at the Met in Otello, his first performances of Parsifal, and as Laca in Jenufa.  He has sung these and other roles at Covent Garden, Vienna State Opera, La Scala, Bavarian State Opera, San Francisco Opera and Lyric Opera of Chicago.

Mr. Heppner joined the Boston Symphony Orchestra as soloist in Mahler’s Eighth Symphony for James Levine’s first concerts as the Orchestra’s Music Director.  His large orchestral repertoire also includes Das Lied von der Erde, Schoenberg’s Gurrelieder, Kodaly’s Psalmus Hungaricus, Britten’s War Requiem, and Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius.  He has performed these and other works with the Berlin Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmonic, the Met Orchestra, Chicago Symphony, Philharmonia Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Toronto Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, and Orchestre de la Suisse Romande.  He has worked with conductors including Sir Georg Solti, Claudio Abbado, Christian Thielemann, Sir Andrew Davis, Daniel Barenboim, Lorin Maazel, Sir Charles Mackerras, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Seiji Ozawa, Valery Gergiev, Esa-Pekka Salonen and Mstislav Rostropovich.

Ben Heppner can be heard on RCA Red Seal on several solo discs, including My Secret Heart, Dedication, Ben Heppner sings German Romantic Opera, and Great Tenor Arias.  His complete opera recordings include Lohengrin, Turandot, and Fidelio for RCA Red Seal, Die Meistersinger for both Decca and EMI, Rusalka for Decca, Hérodiade and Oberon for EMI, Der fliegende Holländer for Sony, Die Frau ohne Schatten for Teldec and Ariadne auf Naxos for Deutsche Grammophon.  Also for Deutsche Grammophon he has released Airs Français, Ideale, a collection of Tosti songs, and a disc of arias from Wagner’s Die Walküre and Siegfried.  They inaugurated their new series of live-recorded Metropolitan Opera performances on DVD with Mr. Heppner as Tristan and as Florestan in Fidelio.

Mr. Heppner studied music at the University of British Columbia.  He first gained national attention in 1979 as the winner of the Canadian Broadcasting Company Talent Festival. In December 1998 CBC television’s Something Special featured Ben Heppner in an hour-long portrait of the artist.  He is a 1988 winner of the Metropolitan Opera auditions and he received Grammy® Awards in 1998 for his recording of Die Meistersinger on London/Decca records and in 2001 for his recording of Les Troyens with the London Symphony Orchestra on LSOLive.  Ben Heppner is a Companion of the Order of Canada. Please visit www.benheppner.com.