Acclaimed tenor takes the stage tonight

When the power of Canadian tenor Ben Heppner's voice reverberates from the ceilings of the world's famous opera houses, it's more than just the music that's soaring.

When the power of Canadian tenor Ben Heppner’s voice reverberates from the ceilings of the world’s famous opera houses, it’s more than just the music that’s soaring.

“There’s an incredible joy I get from singing,” explains Heppner. “I feel like I’m freed from gravity, that I can do anything I can think of doing when things are at their finest.”

Tonight, those with tickets to Heppner’s sold-out performance at the Yukon Arts Centre, will witness the internationally-acclaimed tenor reach these lofty heights outside of his usual haunts, which include New York City’s Metropolitan Opera and La Scala in Milan.

But spending his formative years in Dawson Creek, B.C. has rooted and reminded Heppner of how much of an impact similar, albeit rare, performances had on him while growing up in a small town.

“Part of it is to bring Mohammed to the mountain, I suppose ... for the audience to get some exposure to what is opera or classical music,” said Heppner of why he likes to spend time performing in rather out-of-the-way places.

“And also to demystify (opera music) so it doesn’t seem like such an unapproachable thing,” he said in an interview Monday.

Sharing opera music with new audiences is one motivator, but Heppner says he feels drawn to places off the beaten track.

“I sort of feel like the small town is part of my blood,” he said. “I like the earthiness, the directness, the openness of the people and one connects very quickly with people in a small community.”

While pursuing opera singing as a career did not immediately connect with Heppner, music was a huge part of his life and a desire to sing, matched with encouragement from his peers and mentors, eventually led to fame and fortune.

“There was something like a moth to a flame that pulled me towards music,” said Heppner, adding he had ample opportunities to pursue different careers.

“But something kept me from committing to them (and) somehow I felt like I wasn’t done with the music thing ... opera itself was a latecomer.”

It was not until Heppner was 25 that he began studying opera in Toronto, two years after winning a CBC talent competition.

“From that competition, it only took nine years to have an overnight success… it really did,” jests the 52-year-old.

That “overnight” success came in 1988, when Heppner was a finalist in Metropolitan Opera auditions and also won the Birgit Nilsson Prize for aspiring opera singers.

Within two years, Heppner was performing all over the world with elite orchestras, conductors and singers, his own operatic interpretations eliciting praise from fans and critics alike.

“It was a whirlwind and it surprised me and I think I was quite naive when I went into it ... and then when I realized what I was doing, I preferred to stay naive,” said Heppner, who was equally gob smacked with the professional company he was keeping as critics were with him.

“I preferred not to think about the pressure that I was under, the places I was singing, the great conductors and orchestras I was working with, I chose not to think of the fact that I was considered to be on par with them and eventually I had to say, ‘OK, stop trying to catch up, stop trying to be as good as they are, and be as good as they are.’”

And 20 years after his breakthrough success, it’s safe to say that Heppner is just as good, if not better than his contemporaries.

But no matter how much critical acclaim Heppner receives, it’s the thrill of being on stage, doing what he loves that inspires him the most.

“I can remember being on stage at the Met, going out at this particular moment when the overture starts playing and nobody can see me yet,” Heppner recalled.

“And it sort of dawned on me that I’m performing in one of the best opera houses, with one of the best orchestras, the best conductor and the best singers and I’m among the luckiest people in the world.

“If I sold aluminum siding for a living, I’d have to sing. I can’t stop it so the fact I get to do it and pay the bills is really pretty cool,” Heppner added.

And attendees of Heppner’s show tonight will be treated to a smorgasbord of his heady repertoire, which will include arias from well-known operas and a selection of what Heppner refers to as parlour songs.

“Some of them will be familiar but all will be very accessible,” he promised.