Nancy Davis Booth, Tucson's pre-eminent soprano and a woman whose 45-plus-year singing career earned her the right to be called a diva, is retiring from singing.
Last Sunday, she made her final guest soloist appearance with the Tucson Pops Orchestra. Her annual performances had been a season highlight with the orchestra's Music Under the Stars parks series for 38 years.
Sunday, she will make what she is billing as her final classical singing appearance in Musica Sonora's season finale.
After that, Booth said she will likely continue acting and will continue teaching, coaching and directing with Pima Community College. But she is retiring from singing.
"It's just time," she said a few days before the Pops concert. "I would rather go out having people say, 'Gosh she is fabulous - why is she quitting?' instead of saying, 'Oh, she used to be great.' "
Booth, 60, has sung opera all over the country, including with Arizona Opera; and has been a soloist with orchestras, including regular turns with the Tucson Symphony Orchestra. She's done musical theater locally with Arizona Theatre Company and recitals on stages around the country, including with Invisible Theatre's Sizzling Summer Sounds series.
Her repertoire has ranged from Broadway hits to hard-core classical repertoire, which demands that the singer be in top physical condition. And while she's no slouch, Booth said she's getting to a point in her life where the physical demands are getting to be too much.
A few years ago, Booth made a conscious decision to tamp down her engagements in preparation for her retirement. Most singers book themselves out years in advance, she explained, so she started taking fewer and fewer engagements.
"It wasn't a hard decision" to retire, she said, noting that she will be plenty busy teaching and directing musical theater at Pima and hanging out with her three grandchildren.
"If I didn't have anything else to do or anything else I was interested in, it would have been hard. It was a natural progression."
Booth shares the Musica Sonogra stage with fellow Tucson soprano Christina Jarvik and lyric tenor Matthew Hooter, a Minnesota native who now heads choral activities at Marana's Mountain View High School.
The trio will perform a sampler of Baroque era treats, including works from operas, oratorio and sacred songs. Expect to hear rare gems from Handel, Vivaldi, Purcell, Rameauand and Bach.
Jeffri Sanders, who runs the professional ensemble of Musica Sonora with Jarvik, will accompany the singers on harpsichord and organ. He also will perform solo organ works by Bach and Buxtehude.
If you go
• What: Musica Sonora season finale.
• Featuring: Sopranos Nancy Davis Booth and Christina Jarvis; lyric tenor Matthew Hooter; keyboardist Jeffri Sanders.
• When: 3 p.m. Sunday.
• Where: Grace St. Paul's Episcopal Church, 2331 E. Adams St.
• Cost: $15, $12 for seniors and groups of 10 or more; students are $5. Available at the door.
• Details: musicasonora.org or 628-8119.
