Film: Holiday Hustle

when did you last hear a Noël Coward number end on a ringing high C?

Heppner’s instrument—unlike, say, Melchior’s—is not especially warm or rich, and, when he is not in form, it can get tinny and scratchy. He is an astute musician, though, and the Wagnerite contingent appreciates—though that is too mild a word—his stamina and will, which are absolutely necessary to surviving such roles as Tristan.