The Foundation’s board of directors is delighted to announce that Camila Montefusco has won this year’s Walter Prystawski Prize as the overall top candidate in our awards competition.

Camila Montefusco is a storyteller at heart. Described as possessing “an instrument of remarkable power and endurance” (Revue L’Opéra Québec), the Brazilian-born mezzo-soprano is a recent graduate of Opéra de Montréal’s Atelier lyrique.

Recent role debuts include Rychtarka in Janáček’s Jenufa with Opéra de Montréal, Offred in The Handmaid’s Tale at the Banff Centre, Maman in L’enfant et les sortilèges, Annio in La clemenza di Tito, and Madame Flora in The Medium with the Orchestre classique de Montréal. In the 26/27  season, Camila makes her mainstage and role debut with Pacific Opera Victoria as Second Lady in The Magic Flute.

Originally a professional violinist in Brazil, Camila fell in love with the voice while playing in the opera pit. She earned a Bachelor of Violin Performance from the University of São Paulo before moving to Canada to pursue voice, earning a Master of Music with honours from Western University followed by the Rebanks Family Fellowship at the Glenn Gould School.

Additional accolades include First Prize at the Macina Competition, Second Prize at the Canadian Opera Company Ensemble Studio Competition and Third Prize at the Marmande International Singing Competition.

This season, Montefusco is the grateful recipient of the Vancouver Opera Guild’s Career Development Grant, and the Hnatyshyn Foundation’s Carl and Trudy Michailoff Developing Artist Grant for Classical Vocal Performance. She is also honoured to have received the 2026 Sylva Gelber Music Foundation Award and the Walter Prystawski Prize, which will assist in her transition to the German opera system through intensive language training, specialized vocal and repertoire training in Berlin, and participation in auditions and competitions.