Don Wright followed in his father’s and brother’s footsteps when he joined the Vancouver Opera as a chorus member in 1975.

More than five decades later, the singer is retiring following a final performance of La Bohème this Sunday.

Wright performed in 168 productions for the Vancouver Opera, and he told CBC’s On The Coast that he would miss the people that he worked with over the years the most.

“There’s been lots of changes, and lots of regulars that are still there from, you know, 20-30 years ago,” he said.

“Nobody’s been in quite as long as me,” he added with a laugh.

Wright’s wife, Eileen, was also a member of the opera’s chorus — and it was something of a family tradition when he joined her in 1975.

Tom Wright, Don’s dad, performed as a chorus member for the opera since it began in 1960 until the 1980s, according to the company.

His brother, Ed, also performed in the chorus starting in 1965.

Don said he had performed in many amateur shows before he auditioned for the chorus — admitting he didn’t have any opera tunes in his repertoire at the time.

He has gone on to lend his voice to productions like House of the Dead, Magic Flute and others.

Wright says that one of his career highlights was doing lead roles for a 50-minute-long program that toured B.C. schools for four years in the 1980s.

“We did Cinderella, Tales of Hoffmann, Don Pasquale … that was the next best thing to doing opera,” he said.

The Vancouver Opera said in a statement it would be honouring Wright’s service after his final performance this Sunday.

“His impact will be remembered by many in the Vancouver opera and choral scene, and by those he has performed with at Vancouver Opera,” the opera company said.