Olivia Byington

Origin

Rio de Janeiro, RJ

Years active

1973

Genres

mpb, pop

Instruments

vocals, classical guitar, violin

Biography

Olivia Maria Lustosa Byington was born on December 24, 1958, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She began her musical career at the age of fifteen by singing jingles for Aquarius, a company founded by Marcos Valle and Paulo Sergio Valle. She furthered her musical education by studying classical guitar, violin, and music theory at PróArte. In 1978, she recorded her debut album alongside the band Barca do Sol, featuring the radio hit "Lady Jane" composed by Nando and Geraldo Carneiro, which earned her critical acclaim as the best singer of her generation by music critic Sergio Cabral.

Throughout her career, Byington has collaborated with numerous legendary figures in Brazilian music. She traveled to Cuba to participate in the Varadero Festival alongside Chico Buarque and later recorded the album Identidad at the invitation of Silvio Rodriguez. She also performed alongside Tom Jobim and an orchestra conducted by Radamés Gnatalli at the Sala Cecilia Meirelles. Her diverse discography includes a virtuosic voice-and-piano album recorded with pianist João Carlos Assis Brasil, as well as the critically acclaimed 1997 tribute album to Aracy de Almeida titled A Dama do Encantado, produced by Mauricio Carrilho.

In addition to her singing and songwriting work, Byington has expanded her artistic footprint into literature, television scoring, and production. She released a self-titled album in 2007 featuring collaborations with Portuguese poet Tiago Torres da Silva, and later produced television soundtracks for Rede Globo series such as As Cariocas and As Brasileiras. She also produced the debut album Monomania for singer Clarice Falcão and published a memoir titled O que é que ele tem in 2016, detailing the life of her first son, João.