When Canadian tenor Ben Heppner announced his retirement after 25 years in the business, David Mirvish offered him a role in Titanic, currently on at the Princess of Wales Theatre in Toronto. In his first-ever musical performance, Heppner plays real-life department store tycoon Isador Straus.
Last year Canadian tenor Ben Heppner announced he would be hanging up his pipes after almost 25 years in the business. He assumed this meant an end to his stage career, until a few weeks later when David Mirvish offered him a role in Titanic, currently on at the Princess of Wales Theatre in Toronto. In his first-ever musical performance, Heppner plays real-life department store tycoon Isador Straus. Here, the "gentle giant" of Canadian opera shares some of the secrets of his success, including the right balance of courage and ego and why God is a powerful ally.
Sometimes the answer is already there
A lot of people assumed my decision to retire from opera was this incredibly agonizing thing. Friends would ask how I was feeling and I would joke, "I have mixed emotions: joy and happiness." There were a number of reasons why I knew it was time – some relating to my voice and others to the intense schedule. I just felt completely ready to open myself up to new opportunities and so far, it has been incredible [along with the Titanic role, Heppner hosts Saturday Afternoon at the Opera and Backstage with Ben Heppner on CBC Radio]. Before Titanic came along, it seemed totally possible that I would never sing professionally again. Musical theatre is something I never imagined being involved in. I mean, good Lord – I'm a Wagner singer! I think in life I've been lucky to say yes at the right times and say no at the right times, too. Way back when, I was basically offered a Kentucky Fried Chicken franchise. At the time, my career was floating nowhere fast and my wife's family friend had a number of outlets. I feel so fortunate that I said no.
Don't let your supply exceed their demand
When you first achieve success in your career, you want to take advantage of opportunity, because you feel like maybe it won't come again. At one point, I was travelling upwards of 300 days a year. One day, my wife asked me, "How many more years of you not being home are there?" I realized that I was letting my career control me and that I wanted to have some control over the time I spent away. I gave myself permission to set limits. A lot of people thought I was committing career-icide, but the opposite turned out to be true. I have a somewhat rarity in terms of voice type and the economic principal of supply and demand kicked in. I learned you need to find the right balance between having the courage to know that you're not the only one who can do this and the ego to believe that they'll still want you and that you have something to offer.
Advice is there for the discarding
There's a saying that goes, "A double-minded man is unstable in all of his ways." You need to know who you are and what you're willing to do. This is probably the best advice that I would offer to young singers. It's an industry where everyone is always going to give you advice, but just because somebody is advising you doesn't mean that they are qualified to do so or that you need to listen. I think in life you give permission to people to give you advice and it's worth thinking long and hard about the people you let in.
There's no 'me' in Jesus
My relationship with God and my religion is one of those things where every day it's there. For me, it's a regular routine for exercising that muscle that believes there's a power outside of me and that I am not the be-all and end-all of the world. There's something beyond and I want to be part of something that's bigger than me. With Titanic, I haven't been to church – where my wife is the minister – since the middle of April. We have the matinees. I use that time to regenerate myself, but I'm really looking forward to being together with other people of my faith when Titanic concludes.
This interview has been edited and condensed by Courtney Shea.