Calgary's Cowtown Opera is ending on a high note after a decade full of cheeky, fun interpretations of opera classics.

Michelle Minke, founder of Cowtown Opera and an opera singer herself, says she's sad to say goodbye but it was tiring trying to convince people to support the company.

As well, she was worried about not being able to secure government funding in the future.

"Before we dwindled out or had to cut back, we decided let's stop and celebrate because why not end on a high note, right?" she said.

Bethany Yon, executive director, left; Michelle Minke, founder and artistic director, centre; and Aaron Coates, associate artistic director, say their mission to make opera fun and accessible is complete. (Cowtown Opera)

Minke, also artistic director of the quirky theatre company, says she looks forward to whatever takes its place.

"Everything has a season and everything has its time," she said.

"I felt like maybe everybody could kind of feel that a change was needed and I think that that is just as much to honour."

How Cowtown Opera came to be

Minke says she started the theatre company because after years of being an opera singer, she decided she wanted to use opera to break stereotypes.

"I came back to Calgary and didn't know how I was going to sing. I knew a whole bunch of my friends had also moved back and I thought how about we create a community together," she said.

With that came Minke's idea of a fun opera company that sang opera in English — making it easier for audience members to appreciate the art.

"We've tried to make it relevant by adding, you know, Facebook and Instagram references as well as commenting on local topics and commentary on just relevant things for Calgarians," said Minke.

Cowtown Opera members made themselves apparent all over the city at open mic nights, birthday parties, flash mobs and even in a musical tribute to the Calgary Flames.

"Playoffs are here, let's drink a ton of beer," goes the Cowtown Opera mash-up. 1:03

"That's kind of how we showed Calgary, like, 'Hey, you've got this amazing talent here,'" she said.



The company performed over 25 shows, trained over 250 singers and created over 600 opportunities for local artists, says Minke.

"But really it was about investing in our locals and and contributing to our community."





Some of Minke's favourite memories of the past decade include performing in Calgary's High Performance Rodeo and the times when people's hearts were touched by their voices and storytelling. Some of Minke's favourite memories of the past decade include performing in Calgary's High Performance Rodeo and the times when people's hearts were touched by their voices and storytelling.

"One of my favourite stories is that a woman who came to one of our shows last season, her daughter came up to us and said my mother has Alzheimer's but she recognized the music in your show and she clapped for the first time in years," she said.

"I feel that that is part of our legacy."

Arts community 'disappointed'

Jenna Shummoogum, a theatre critic, says it's disappointing to see the company pack it in.

"It made opera accessible. They did it in venues that were smaller, they made prices accessible," she said.

"They made opera basically an everyday thing."

Patti Pon, president and CEO of Calgary Arts Development, says that in a short time, the production company established a real role and place in the community.

"I appreciated they said that they reflected over what they've done over the years and and that they completed everything they did and they've done what they set out to do," she said.

"So rather than be open for the sake of opening, they're moving on to other things and making way for other companies who maybe have similar aspirations or want to fulfil their dreams and aspirations as well."

Cowtown Opera's final show, Does Not Compute, a story about humans teaching AI how to love, will take place April 17-19 at cSpace King Edward.