Ben Heppner goes off air
NewsThe Canadian Broadcasting Corporation has put out this statement:
After eight years sharing his passion for opera as the host of SATURDAY AFTERNOON AT THE OPERA and BACKSTAGE on CBC Music, Ben Heppner retires.
Kwagiulth and Stó:lō First Nations mezzo-soprano Marion Newman to helm SATURDAY AFTERNOON AT THE OPERA starting Sat. Sept. 11.
During his farewell show over Labour Day weekend, Ben Heppner said, ‘I’ve decided to move into a new phase of my life. Although I won’t be working anymore – there’s lots of things that I want to do… and I want to thank you for making Saturday Afternoon at the Opera a regular part of your week. Thank you too for the emails and letters you’ve written – many of you have become a treasured presence in my life. You will be missed.’
Heppner, 65, ended his international tenor career early to pursue a new career as a media presenter.
Best wishes for your next phase…a wonderful singer and a beautiful soul. Thank you for many memorable performances.
Well done. Best wishes, and stay healthy! Thanks for your life.
I’m not disappointed that Backstage is no more.
While Heppner was an engaging host and some of his stories were interesting, the show had a “classical music for dummies” feel. I don’t think any of the pieces they played were longer than 5 minutes.
It was a show for people who wanted to listen to Ben’s pleasant stories and some nice but short and unchallenging classical excerpts.
CBC programming really took a nosedive in 2008 when Stephen Harper’s Conservative Party (they correctly dropped the “Progressive” part of the name) lobotomized the public broadcaster. Formerly the CBC provided a great deal of interesting, intelligent, often highly esoteric programming. Unfortunately, it became a completely bland pop-and-light-classical station overnight. I haven’t listened since. Nobody who knows anything about classical music needs to hear yet another recording of Eine Kleine or the Holberg Suite. None of this is any slight on Ben Heppner, who was a perfectly charming and pleasant host. And I’m willing to bet he might have preferred more adventurous programming himself, sometimes.
Too true. And while I suspect Marion Newman will do a good job — she is a very able communicator as well as singer — I also suspect she comes with an agenda, and one that will have the full backing of the CBC.
I think Marion Newman will certainly have an agenda.
You hit the nail on the head. Unfortunately North American audiences are condescendingly given either dumbed down content or are subject to political revisionists – or wannabes. Ben knew better and he could have done better by rising to the occasion and refusing to dumb down. But he didn’t and the gratitude he got was getting pushed out. Dumb Ben. The Fine Arts in the West are beginning to resemble the Fine Arts in Germany in the mid-1930s in the name of ” inclusion”.
I tell you folks a little Ben Heppner story. I once had dinner with him, along with other folks in the recorded music industry. He had already recorded Mahler 8 with Colin Davis in Munich (the Chailly/Concertgebouw one came later). I asked him about performing the difficult tenor solos in Mahler 8. He said he’d go anywhere in the world to do Mahler 8 – he loved it that much. Then I asked him about the solo tenor part in Beethoven’s 9th. He said he never wanted to do that part ever again (because of its difficulty)! I’m sure he didn’t mean that for public consumption, but it hardly matters at this point. I appreciated his candidness, and his love for Mahler 8. It certainly wasn’t worded as a put-down to Beethoven, but rather a comment on the strenuousness of the part. He could not have been a nicer and less ‘diva like’ person.
Maybe he can spend more time posting on the internet. Does he know about this site?
I first heard Ben Heppner sing Walther in Die Meistersinger in Seattle – back in 1989. An up-and-comer of 34 sure to be a star, and that definitely happened. I heard him a couple other times over the years. Hard to believe he’s 65 now; that Meistersinger still feels like yesterday.
I have greatly missed listening to Ben Heppner’s “Backstage” the last two weeks. I hadn’t been aware of his retirement, so was caught by surprise when this ended, too. What a public treasure he has been – may his retirement be the blessing he so richly deserves. Miss you, Ben!!
I want to thank Ben Heppner for his very interesting CBC programmes Backstage with Ben Heppner. I will miss him.
I enjoyed ” Backstage “, very much and it offered a great counterpoint to my obsessive interest in 1950-60s Jazz, and 1930s -1960s Blues and Folk music and its history. Ben Heppner helped to germinate and cultivate my curiousity in classical music 9 years ago when i tuned in late on a Sunday [rebroadcast] show what was even more interesting was Bens own personal stories as well as the inspiration and history behind the songs he played by the Composers and Muscians that played them.
Thank you Ben.