June, 2006 - Nr. 6
"HURRICANE BEN" TO SING UP A STORM AT THE TSO
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Peter Oundjian, conductor
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Ben Heppner, tenor
June 15 at 8:00 pm
June 17 at 7:30 pm
Roy Thomson Hall
Toronto, Ontario -- Peter Oundjian joins forces with Canada’s superstar tenor for a spectacular conclusion to the Masterworks and Casual Concerts Series. Ben Heppner performs the music that has made him the foremost heldentenor of his generation, including dramatic arias by Beethoven and Wagner, and rarely-heard songs by Sibelius. An interesting aspect of this concert is the new arrangements of the Sibelius songs, having been newly orchestrated by John Estacio as commissioned by CBC Radio 2. The orchestrations were done with the assistance of the Sibelius estate. Mr. Estacio will be present for these performances. The programme: Sibelius: Finlandia; songs by Sibelius: "Vilse", Op. 17, No. 4; "Illalle", Op. 17, No. 6; "Soluppgång", Op. 37, No. 3; "Var det en Dröm?", Op. 37, No. 4; "Flickan kom ifrån sin älsklings möte", Op. 37, No. 5; "Säv,säv, susa", Op. 36, No. 4; "Svarta rosor", Op. 36, No. 1. Wagner’s Prelude to Act I of Lohengrin; "In fernem Land" from Lohengrin (Thursday performance only). Beethoven: Leonore Overture No. 3; "Dungeon Scene" from Act II of Fidelio; Wagner: Prelude to Act I of Die Meistersinger; Wagner: "Prize Song" from Act III of Die Meistersinger. There is no intermission for the June 17th 7:30 pm concert.
Ben Heppner is recognized as the finest dramatic tenor before the public today. He performs frequently with the Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Vienna State Opera, Opéra National de Paris, and Royal Opera, Covent Garden. He has been recorded by every internationally renowned record label, and recently became an exclusive artist for Deutsche Grammophon. His first solo CD for the Yellow Label, Airs Français, was released in 2001. In 2003 Deutsche Grammophon released Ideale, a CD of songs by Tosti. DG also inaugurated its new series of live-recorded Metropolitan Opera performances on DVD with Mr. Heppner as Florestan in Fidelio and in the title role of Tristan und Isolde.
In the current season Mr. Heppner joined the Dresden Staatskapelle to record the arias of Siegfried and Siegmund from Wagner’s Ring Cycle. The CD was released by DG in April of this year. He returned to the Berlin State Opera to sing Die Meistersinger with Daniel Barenboim, to the Metropolitan Opera to sing Lohengrin, Fidelio and his first performances of Parsifal, and to Vienna to sing Tristan und Isolde. He will return to Covent Garden in July to portray Calaf in Turandot.
Mr. Heppner performs a large concert repertoire with orchestras including Berlin, Vienna, Chicago, Toronto, Boston, the Met, Philadelphia, Philharmonia, Royal Philharmonic, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, and all of the London orchestras. Conductors with whom he has worked include Sir Georg Solti, Claudio Abbado, Christian Thielemann, Sir Andrew Davis, Daniel Barenboim, Lorin Maazel, Sir Colin Davis, Wolfgang Sawallisch, and Seiji Ozawa.
A native of British Columbia, Mr. Heppner began his musical studies at the University of British Columbia School of Music. He is a 1988 winner of the Metropolitan Opera auditions and he received a Grammy Award in 1998 for his recording of Die Meistersinger on London/Decca records. In Canada he has won several Juno Awards for his recordings, most recently for Airs Français. Mr. Heppner is an Officer of the Order of Canada. Please visit
www.benheppner.com.June 15 concert sponsor Raymond James Ltd. June 17 part of the BANANA REPUBLIC Casual Concerts Series.
Tickets:
Call the Roy Thomson Hall box office at 416 593 4828.
Thurs: $120, $93, $88, $77, $68.50, $53, $45, $38, $38.75.
Sat: $68.50, $61.50, $57, $53, $49, $39.50, $32, $26.50.
Mon-Fri, 9-8. Sat, 12-5. Sun, 3 hrs prior to concert start. VISA/MC/AMEX.
Toronto Symphony Orchestra
#550 – 212 King Street West, Toronto, ON, M5H 1K5
Marketing fax: 416 593 8660 www.tso.ca
