On Tue, 4 Apr 2000, MarieAnn Nicola wrote:
>
> For anyone who doesn't know, Ben Heppner, is proudly a canadian tenor
> hailing from BC. But, that's not what makes him so exceptional!!!
> All you Wagner buffs out there probably already know who he is!
> He is the only tenor to have arisen in a significant number of years who
> can perform Wagnarian Opera in the manner it ought to have been performed
> in. In fact his voice is so dramatically Wagner that he was booked years in
> advance to perform the title role in Tristan und Isolde (and has since been
> performing it steadily it seems), why, because HE'S THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN DO
> IT!?!
It's true: Heppner is one of the very few real Heldentenors around. And
yet, unlike Melchior (whose voice, I fear, I can't bear to listen to),
Heppner's voice still manages to retain an Italianate quality and a
lyrical sweetness that make him truly a joy to listen to.
I am not convinced, though, that he is absolute Heldentenor material. I'm
delighted when I hear him in Fidelio and Lohengrin, and I think he could
do wonders with Siegmund and Parsifal. But I'm not sure if Siegfried, for
example, wouldn't be pushing the envelope just a little too far; I really
think Tristan is on the outer reach of heaviness for his instrument - but
that's just me based on hearing his live Met broadcast and some other live
broadcasts of his voice.
In a way, I also think it's a shame that he seems to have chosen to
specialise in German repertoire. Not because we don't desperately need a
good Wagnerian tenor (after years of suffering through Siegfried
Jerusalem and James King barking their way through the repertoire), but
because his voice is truly beautiful, and I'd love to hear it used in some
of the Italian tenore di forza repertoire, like Aida and La Forza del
Destino and Otello and Dick Johnson, and in French heroic roles like
Rodrigue in Le Cid and Samson. What I hear in Heppner is the best
possible successor to Domingo in that repertoire (and as much as I love
Placido, I have to admit that Heppner has a much easier upper register
than Domingo ever has). I just hate to think he's going to be wasted on
Wagner where the full potential of his vocal beauty just won't get heard.
Karen Mercedes
-----
Ich singe, wie der Vogel singt,
Der in den Zweigen wohnet;
Das Lied, das aus der Kehle dringt,
Ist Lohn, der reichlich lohnet.
-- J.W. von Goethe, WILHELM MEISTER
My NEIL SHICOFF Website:
http://www.radix.net/~dalila/shicoff/shicoff.html
My Website:
http://www.radix.net/~dalila/index.html
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