Heppner to bring the music to life with personal stories from behind the scenes at some of the greatest opera houses in the world, woven together with popular classical musical selections.
Backstage with Ben Heppner airs on CBC Radio 2 on Saturdays at 4 p.m. (5:00 AT, 5:30 NT)
beginning September 7.
CBC Radio 2‘s new host of Saturday Afternoon at the Opera, Ben Heppner, is expanding listeners’ opera knowledge with a brand new show, Backstage with Ben Heppner. Heppner’s hour-long weekly show will launch on September 7, 2013 at 4 p.m. (5:00 AT, 5:30 NT), immediately following Saturday Afternoon at the Opera on CBC Radio 2. The show will also air on Sunday mornings at 10:00 a.m. (10:30 NT).
Backstage with Ben Heppner will feature some of the greatest classical music from Canadian artists as well as international superstars, spotlighting operatic repertoire as well as orchestral favourites. Heppner will also engage listeners with personal stories from his illustrious career as a dramatic tenor that has taken him to some of the greatest opera stages and concert halls around the world. His stories are always insightful, often humourous and give the listener a peek behind the stage curtain through Heppner’s eyes.
Click here to watch an exclusive CBC Live interview with Ben Heppner, talking about the new show and what listeners can expect.
“This is a very exciting opportunity for me; being on the radio has always been a dream of mine,” says Heppner. “I cannot wait to share some of my personal experiences and memories from backstage and engage with the audience. I’m looking forward to presenting listeners with some of the very best pieces in opera during each week’s hour-long show.”
To coincide with the show premiere, CBC Music will launch a new web radio station on September 4, 2013 called Heppner’s Opera Gems featuring opera gems selected by Heppner. You’ll hear soaring melodies, glorious voices and the most familiar arias from the best-loved operas of all time featuring some of today’s biggest stars and rising talent.
-30-
About CBC Music.ca
CBCMusic.ca is Canada’s free digital music service. For the casual listener to the hardcore fan, connect with the very best Canadian and international music, concerts and features. Simple and easy to navigate, CBCMusic.ca gives Canadians access to 50 Web radio stations, 12 distinct genre-based music communities, CBC Radio 2 and CBC Radio 3, plus content from the most knowledgeable music personalities and programmers from across the country, hundreds of concerts, playlists and more.
About CBC’s In-House Publicity Team
CBC’s team of in-house publicists deliver a comprehensive publicity service for all CBC programming and events. For a complete list of publicity contacts and for more information including series synopses, press releases, hi-res images, video clips and bios, please visit the new CBC Media Centre at cbc.ca/mediacentre. Follow CBC’s publicity team on Twitter @CBC_Publicity.
For more information please contact:
Dayna Shiskos, publicist, CBC
O: (416) 205-7973
