"After much consideration, I've decided the time has come for a new era in my life. I'm setting aside my career as an opera and concert singer.

I wish to thank the countless people who inspired me, supported me and encouraged me to embark on a fantastic journey over the past 35 years. A million thanks to those who hired me. Most importantly, I want to thank everyone who ever bought a ticket.

I'm really enjoying my time on CBC Radio as host of Saturday Afternoon at the Opera and Backstage with Ben Heppner, and look forward to what the future has in store." - Ben Heppner

Appreciation from Alexander Neef and Johannes Debus:

Alexander Neef, General Director, Canadian Opera Company

“I’ve admired Ben Heppner for a very long time, well before I even began working in opera. In fact, Ben was one of the first opera stars I was exposed to when I was growing up in Germany. To have had the opportunity to not only know him personally but work with him professionally has been the realization of a childhood dream.

"It has been an unreal experience for me to go from seeing him perform in Vienna in 2000 as Der Kaiser in Robert Carsen’s production of Die Frau ohne Schatten, to crossing paths with him while working at the Paris Opera a few years later on Lohengrin and Tristan und Isolde, to ultimately evolve into being in a position to bring him back to the Canadian Opera Company’s mainstage.

"Ben is one of opera’s finest artists, and it has been my greatest pleasure to follow his career. It is the honour of the Canadian Opera Company to have not only brought him to our stage as Tristan, in a very special production of Tristan und Isolde, but also to have hosted his last stage performance with our Peter Grimes this past fall. 

"We hope that we can work with him again, in whatever capacity he chooses.”

Johannes Debus, Music Director, Canadian Opera Company; conductor of Tristan und Isolde and Peter Grimes

“When Ben sings, I carefully listen. When he appears on stage, I watch attentively. I’m spellbound and fascinated (and I even forget that I might be conducting at the same time). I’m captivated by the power of his truthful expression and overwhelmed by the naturalness and convincing “logic” of his music-making. Ben’s singing is always meaningful and relevant, it always makes sense and it’s never a hollow “end in itself.”

"And – God bless him – what a mind-boggling, glorious, unique voice he has! What an embracing, lush presence, what radiance, what a rich palette of colours and nuances his voice offers!"

"His Tristan performances at the COC belong to the most powerful, touching and incredible things I have ever experienced in my life at the opera. It was far beyond the norm, how Ben retraced the fever curve over the three acts with ceaseless energy and an enormous, youthful vocal vitality. Where others have to fight to “survive” that killer role, Ben, in his extraordinary way, added new dimensions of expressivity. He delivered an unsparing and utterly human insight into Tristan’s soul and all its madness."

"With Peter Grimes, Ben delivered another ingenious example of his artistry and artistic integrity. His identification with the role and his multi-faceted portrayal of the outsider Grimes were absolutely magnetic and mesmerizing. Grimes, the unsung hero; Grimes, the troubled outsider; Grimes, the optimistic dreamer; Grimes, the man of nature; Grimes, the fragile, broken being – all facets of this role Ben vocally and theatrically brought to life. His rendition of the mad scene at the end of the piece belongs, for me, to the most beautiful, heartbreaking and unforgettable moments of operatic theatre."

"Working with Ben was one of the most memorable and fulfilling experiences of my life. There are many great artists working in this field, but only a few might share with Ben the rare combination of a unique voice, a humble, honest, humorous, cordial down-to-earth personality, and the capacity to powerfully express and deeply move.”