<<  -- 8 --  Tess Crebbin and Sissy von Kotzebue    BEN HEPPNER

MV: You also have a well-defined funny bone, don't you?

BH: Oh yes. Life is too short to take everything so seriously. It is interesting how people perceive me, though, if they don't know me. I went to Japan and I was interviewed by a number of people. And they always had the feeling from the intensity of the roles that I sing that I must be a very intense personality. To be quite frank, being intense is way too much work. I mean, we all have different sides but mostly I prefer to be easy-going and I don't think that takes away from my standing as a performer.

MV: Where do you live nowadays?

BH: My home is in Toronto now. I have three children, two sons and one daughter. We also have a dog, a Schnauzer, and two cats. I do limit the amount of time that I am away from home because my family life is very important to me. I don't limit the number of performances but I look very carefully at what I do and where. I decided that I would say: this is how much I will be away from home and no more. I did this eight years ago and it is the best decision I ever made. Everyone thought it would be committing 'careericide' and that I'd dig myself my own grave. It actually turned into quite the opposite because my performances were actually improving and also because I was less available. I started making good choices because I was forced to make them since I had less time available to spend on the road.

MV: What does the private Ben Heppner do to relax?

BH: I spend time with my family and friends, maybe some maintenance around the house at times. Staying connected with my kids, going to see them play basketball or hockey or whatever else they are into at the time.

MV: What do your children do?

BH: My older son is studying social sciences. He is a very good musician also, but his interest is in the more modern things. He plays bass guitar. I don't think he will make a career of it, though. My daughter plays piano. My wife also studied piano although she never made a career of it. She supported us for a long time, keeping things together financially while I was working on my career. My daughter is currently earning a living in Toronto as an accompanist.

MV: Might you work together one day?

BH: I think what has to happen first is that she has to know who she is. It's not fair to be put into such a position. She wants to feel that she deserves to be there on her own merit, not because she is my daughter. I respect that very much. I remember a few years ago I was singing in Toronto and she came home from her school and she said: you know dad, I am sick and tired of talking about your career. Because all of her friends were getting to the place where they were becoming more aware of the world around them as they were growing up and they were starting to read newspapers. Their parents were reading newspapers and then they would say: 'Oh, isn't that the father of the girl you are friends with?' I try to let my children be who they are, without being the son or daughter of this successful tenor. They are wonderful individuals.

MV: What are your future plans?

BH: I keep running the flag for Korngold's Die tote Stadt. I love Tote Stadt and so I am hoping somewhere someone will bite and we can work on it.