Ben Heppner enjoying post-opera life as he joins ‘Titanic’ musical cast

TORONTO – Renowned Canadian tenor Ben Heppner says he doesn’t regret announcing in April that he’s retiring from singing opera.

“I have loved it,” the Toronto-based Grammy Award winner and CBC-Radio host exclaimed in an interview. “I don’t miss the stage at all.

“Well, I can remember once. I was (doing a radio show) and I played ‘Danny Boy,’ which is a piece that I sang a lot, and it happened to be the same arrangement that I used, and when I heard it play there was just a little twinge.”

But, as he puts it: “When you’re a performer, the stage always calls you in some way.”

Hence his decision to join the cast of a new production of the “Titanic” musical, which Mirvish Productions will start running at the Princess of Wales Theatre in May.

“The idea of a legit stage or however you want to describe was something I wanted to do to supplement what I’m doing at the radio station,” Heppner said in an interview after announcing his role at a press conference in the theatre on Wednesday.

“I’m looking at the comprimario roles that are age-appropriate and not carrying the whole show. I’ve done that for my career and I’m tired of that.”

Heppner, 58, will play the role of Isidor Straus, a prominent American politician and businessman who co-owned Macy’s department store. He’ll also have three other smaller roles in the ensemble cast. The opportunity came about after he and producer David Mirvish met in April.

Heppner, who has performed at opera houses around the world, said he plans to “spend time with the script and the music” in the coming months while he researches his character.

The Companion of the Order of Canada wants to “bring a credible character to the stage and something that has warmth and has depth.”

And he’s looking forward to not having to sing in the same style as he did in the opera world.

“I won’t be responsible for pumping out massive decibels of sound without a microphone, so it will be a little toned down,” he said. “It’s not such a high threshold, just to portray the character onstage. I’ve done a lot of tragic heroes and things like that where it just takes enormous emotional energy.

“I think this is a lot less.”

Still, Heppner will have to be on stage eight times a week, which has him feeling some trepidation.

“I’m not sure if I’m ready for this work commitment,” he said with a laugh. “I used to sing every third day.”

Despite such concerns, the British Columbia native hopes to do even more theatrical work.

“I would love doing more sort of straight theatre stuff,” he said. “That kind of stuff would be an amazing thing, to add that to everything else that I do, because the radio isn’t full-time and I’m needing to add stuff in.”

In the meantime, he’s enjoying his break from the stage.

“I’m home most of the time now,” said Heppner. “People say, ‘Do you sing in the shower?’ No, it’s way too loud!”

Thom Southerland directs the new reimagining of the “Titanic” musical, which has a book by Peter Stone, and music and lyrics by Maury Yeston.

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