The Awards Committee of the Vancouver Opera Guild is pleased to announce that following careful consideration of the many excellent applications submitted for 2026, the judges’ unanimous decision was to award this year’s $7000 Career Development Grant to mezzo-soprano Camila Montefusco of Montreal. Camila, who recently finished a residency at the Atelier lyrique de L’Opéra de Montréal, will use the grant to spend the fall in Germany where she will undertake auditions, coaching and meetings with industry professionals, improve her fluency in German, and work on targeted repertoire with key mentors. She is a past winner of an encouragement prize in Metropolitan Opera Council Auditions, and earlier this year placed second in the Canadian Opera Company Ensemble Competition.
The three-person jury making the selection included conductor Gordon Gerrard, Artistic Director of Vancouver City Opera as well as new Artistic Director of Manitoba Opera, soprano Adrianne Pieczonka, who is just stepping down as Chair of Voice at the Glenn Gould School, and mezzo-soprano Krisztina Szabo, who is leaving UBC’s School of Music to take up Adrianne Pieczonka’s old position in Toronto. The three had a tough job making their selection from the 20 excellent candidates who applied from across the country. We are fortunate to have so many excellent opera singers in Canada!
