Camilla Ella Williams (October 18, 1919 – January 29, 2012) was an American operatic soprano who performed nationally and internationally.

Beginning in 1944, Williams performed on the coast-to-coast RCA radio network. In 1946 she was the first African American to receive a regular contract with a major American opera company, making her debut with the New York City Opera in the title role in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly. Her performance was hailed by a critic for The New York Times as “an instant and pronounced success.” During her time at the New York City Opera, she performed Nedda in Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci, Mimi in Puccini’s La bohème, Marguerite in Gounod’s Faust, Micaela in Bizet’s Carmen, and the title role in Verdi’s Aida.

Williams sang throughout the United States and Europe with various other opera companies. In 1951 she sang Bess in the landmark, first complete recording of Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess, alongside bass-baritone Lawrence Winters and conductor Lehman Engel. Though she enjoyed the recording experience, she believed strongly that the work ought to be restaged to better portray contemporary African American life, reflecting her decision to refrain from performing the work on stage.

In 1954 she became the first African American to sing a major role with the Vienna State Opera, and performed her signature role in Madama Butterfly. In August 1963, as part of the civil rights March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, she sang “The Star-Spangled Banner” at the White House and, when scheduled performer Marian Anderson was delayed trying to get through the gathered throngs, Williams sang the anthem before 250,000 people at the Lincoln Memorial, before Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech.

A noted concert artist, Williams toured throughout the United States, Latin America, in fourteen African countries, as well as numerous countries in Asia: Formosa, South Korea, China, Japan, Laos, South Vietnam, the Philippines, New Zealand and Australia. In addition, she was a soloist with the Royal Philharmonic, BBC Symphony, Berlin Philharmonic, Vienna Symphony, Chicago Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic under the direction of Leopold Stokowski. In 1950 she recorded Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 with Stokowski and the New York Philharmonic.