When the longest-serving (and singing) member of the Vancouver Opera Chorus, 83-year-old Don Wright, looks back on his career, he’d like to be remembered for more than just the timbre of his vocals after 51 years on stage.

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When Wright joined the Vancouver Opera Chorus in 1975, he still had to support himself as a trucker. The tenor admits stealing glances at his script and memorizing his lines behind the wheel.

He’d roll in to the theatre after a long day on the road, and get to work doing what chorus members did back in the day, which could include assembling the stage or moving scenery before donning the elaborate costumes and makeup.

Chorus members don’t need to drive trucks or move scenery today, thanks, in part, to Wright’s work with the Canadian Actors’ Equity Association.

“After I joined Equity in 1977, I … did a lot of negotiation with Vancouver Opera,” said Wright. Although he performed in 168 productions with the Vancouver Opera Chorus, it is his 16 years with the equity association, including nine on the executive, that he hopes to be remembered for.

Singing may have been his greatest pleasure, but making a difference for Canadian theatrical performers was his greatest pride.

“The young people in the chorus don’t know anything about that,” said Wright with a chuckle.

The retiring Wright had mixed feelings as he prepared for his farewell performance this past Sunday at a matinee showing of La Bohème.

“I may shed a tear,” said Wright.

Wright grew up in a musical family — his father Tom Wright was a popular radio singer, who also performed with the Vancouver Opera in 1960. Although Wright had joined his father on stage as a “super” in non-singing crowd scenes when he was a kid, he joined the opera later in life.

Like any respectable young person who came of age in the 1960s, Wright embraced the music of the era, performing in a folk duo at Vancouver coffee houses with his wife Eileen and singing the protest songs and ballads of the day. He later joined a barbershop quartet. When the quartet broke up, he decided to audition for the opera, despite having no formal opera training.

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The pageantry, the acting, choreography, singing and the response from the audience made it a thrilling place to be.

“Performing in an ensemble with an audience is very satisfying,” said Wright. He was determined to stay, and began taking formal operatic vocal lessons.

Although it is rare for chorus members to move into lead roles, the chorus is a collective character in any opera, and an important one. Vocally, chorus members must be accomplished artists, able to sing anything, in any language, vibrato when required, or pianissimo, project over the orchestra without a microphone and hold their line independently in harmony with others. They must have some acting chops, collaborate and be able to deal with complex staging.

“In the chorus, we have to audition every year, and earn our keep,” said Wright.

When the stars arrive to perform their lead roles, they don’t always mingle with the chorus but Wright recalls Joan Sutherland, who performed several major roles with the Vancouver Opera, fondly.

“She used to knit on the sidelines before going on stage,” said Wright. Another of the friendlier leads was the American tenor James McCracken, who came to perform in Carmen.

“We usually have a party at the end of each run, We went to Nero’s on Cambie Street, and James McCracken paid for all the drinks for the chorus. He was pretty popular for that, and he was a good Don Jose, so it worked well for everyone,” said Wright.

Because it’s seasonal employment, chorus members often have day jobs, and after Wright gave up trucking, he had a few side hustles, including singing at the Pan Pacific hotel’s popular opera brunch.

He spent four years as a member of the Opera in Schools program from 1984 to 1988, where he toured elementary schools throughout B.C., performing for some of his best audiences: young students.

“That was the highlight for me, seeing the kids faces and their questions after the show.”

Wright, who is an avid hiker, said he will miss the camaraderie among the chorus when he leaves, but he expects to keep up with some part-time film work and he’ll try to keep his vocal chops intact.

“If they need me, I’d be happy to go back,” said Wright.

dryan@postmedia.com