Some think that Ben Heppner, who was born in Murrayville, BC, will be as great a tenor as the Italian, Luciano Pavarotti, was at the height of his career.

Educated at the University of British Columbia and the Opera Division at the University of Toronto, Heppner came to national attention in the mid-1980s, and to international attention with his first appearance at New York's Carnegie Hall in 1988 and at the Metropolitan Opera (New York) in 1991.

At present he divides his career between Canadian and international operas and concert performances, and he maintains a strong Christian commitment to sacred music. His voice has been judged particularly appropriate for the singing of roles composed by the German, Richard Wagner.