In two decades of covering Victoria's arts scene, one of my favourite stories was always Barbara Livingston's.

She's the big-voiced Vancouver Island singer who hit the opera stage late. Very late. When her professional career took flight, she was 40 years old. That's like a baseball player making the big leagues in middle age. It's almost unheard of.

And Livingston seemed to have popped up out of nowhere. The wife of a Campbell River logger, she was a stay-at-home mom who enjoyed camping and fishing.

She was far from a musical primitive, having studied voice at the University of Victoria in her youth. But after that, her performances were mostly confined to Little League games and shopping-mall fashion shows.

Then in 1998, Livingston was discovered by Pacific Opera Victoria's artistic director, Timothy Vernon. Taking a gamble, he hired her to sing the lead role of Amelia in A Masked Ball, opposite tenor Richard Margison. Incredibly, she held her own against this veteran, who had sung at La Scala and the Met.

Word leaked out. Bravely, Livingston went on to an impressive career, performing all over North America. After getting her start with Pacific Opera Victoria, she sang with the San Francisco Opera, Florida Grand Opera, the Vancouver Symphony, the Victoria Symphony and Opera Lyra Ottawa.

Operaphiles loved the dewy beauty of her sound -- a "wonderfully fresh-sounding soprano," Vernon recalled this week. She was like an operatic Sleeping Beauty come to life. Years of doing little singing had hermetically preserved her voice.

Late last year, Livingston -- now living in Port Coquitlam -- told me she had stopped singing. The 51-year-old is switching careers, aiming to find work as an arts administrator. She's taking a Capilano College program in arts and entertainment management.

Livingston is a smart cookie who will do well in this field. Still, for me, the shift was a shock. Imagine -- the songbird had stopped singing.

Like most things in life, the truth was more complex. The switch has been gradual. Before Capilano, Livingston was an administrator with the Victoria Conservatory of Music's Opera Studio. She had also spent two years as president of the Greater Victoria Performing Arts Festival.

"The singing got less and less, and the administration got more and more," Livingston told me during a visit to the Times Colonist offices.

She looks different. Trim and youthful, she has lost about 80 pounds. Livingston dieted partly for health reasons; her parents suffered from heart disease and diabetes. But the major weight loss had a profound effect on her breath control -- something hugely important in singing.

Artistically, Livingston has high standards. She refuses to perform unless she matches the highest heights of her career. And the kind of singing Livingston did is especially demanding. She's a lirico-spinto, specializing in heavier soprano roles.

"I think it's a huge cheat," she said. "I can't go on stage and go, 'Yeah, here's me, but it's like 50 per cent of what I was doing five years ago. It sounds crappy, but here you go.' I can't do that."

There were downsides to the performing life. Preparing for opera roles requires immense time and effort. For example, it took two years to prepare for the title role in Bellini's Norma in 2004 -- a notoriously demanding part.

"And even then I felt I barely scratched the surface," Livingston said.

And while she loved it, Livingston sometimes found the life of a professional opera singer to be lonely. Casts bond tightly, but disperse immediately after a run ends. Meanwhile, the novelty of airplane travel and hotel rooms soon loses its allure.

Livingston started seriously thinking of a career switch in 2006, after a gala performance with Margison at the Royal Theatre. As well as singing at the event, she was the administrative liaison for the Victoria Symphony, the Opera Studio and the Victoria Conservatory of Music. Livingston got great feedback for her organizational skills -- singers were amazed she was both performing and helping organize the show.

"It really turned a light on for me. I thought, maybe there's another way I can use my voice as well."

Today, Livingston is nearing the end of her college studies. She's now single, sharing a condo with her pet dog Lucy. The songbird is preparing to take flight once again -- only this time in a different direction.

Ever bold, Livingston insists she'll go wherever a new job takes her.

"Yep. Anywhere," she said with a laugh. "I

shouldn't say anywhere. But I would."