Olivia Russell-Botto

Olivia Russell-Botto is a belter and soprano and a voice teacher whose work bridges musical theatre, opera, and contemporary commercial music. She holds a Master of Music in Vocal Performance and Vocal Pedagogy from the University of Colorado Boulder, where she studied with Abigail Nims, and a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance with an emphasis in Musical Theatre from the University of Mobile. Her training also includes immersive voice and theatre study in Germany and Italy, which adds an international lens to her artistry.

As a performer, Olivia has appeared professionally across the United States, from California to Florida, and abroad in Italy. Her credits include Sergeant Sarah Brown in Guys and Dolls with the Eklund Opera Program at CU Boulder, Carmela in La Llorona, Cupid in Orpheus in the Underworld, Sister Mary Patrick in Sister Act, Laura Jane Kirk in Band Geeks, Mary Jane Wilkes in Big River, Meg March in Little Women, and Little Red Riding Hood in Into the Woods. At the Utah Vocal Arts Academy Summer Festival she won Death by Aria, the competition sponsored by soprano Deborah Voigt, and she completed young artist outreach tours with the Natchez Music Festival.

A champion of new work, Olivia has taken part in multiple workshops developing new pieces, including work with the Mexican American composer Héctor Armienta and the award winning composer Tom Cipullo. She teaches Applied Voice on the faculty of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York and previously taught in the Musical Theatre Department at The New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts.

Private voice lessons with Olivia at The Conservatory at NYPAA are built entirely around the individual singer. She works from a serious pedagogical foundation, so the technical work comes first: breath, registration, and the healthy coordination that lets a voice move between a legit soprano line and a full belt without damage. From there she helps each student assemble a personalized repertoire book that shows off what makes that particular voice worth hearing, ranging from edgy rock ballads to classical art song. Her aim is a singer who is technically grounded, genuinely expressive, and equipped for the range of styles the industry now asks for in a single audition.