Photo: Diamond's Edge Photography
Praised for her “crystalline voice” (Revue L’Opéra) and described as “a delight to hear” (Opera Going TO), soprano Thera Barclay is in demand as an interpreter of operatic, recital, and concert repertoire. She has graced stages across the nation, having performed in Ontario, Québec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and British Columbia, as well as internationally in Berlin, Germany; Sulmona, Italy; Prangins, Switzerland; and Vermont, U.S.A.
Performance highlights include Flora (The Turn of the Screw), Esmeralda (Prodaná nevěsta), Marie (La fille du régiment), Marzelline (Fidelio), Zerlina (Don Giovanni), Mabel (The Pirates of Penzance), Barbarina (The Marriage of Figaro), Lucia (The Rape of Lucretia), Diana (Siren Song), Zweite Dame and Papagena (Die Zauberflöte), Poppea (L’incoronazione di Poppea), Lauretta and Nella (Gianni Schicchi), and La Zelatrice and Suor Genovieffa (Suor Angelica).
Ms. Barclay has worked as a soloist with the Toronto-based concert series Apocryphonia, where she was a soloist for their GinasterAmirov concert in October 2023. She was also a Jeune Talent/Young Talent participant in the Prangins Baroque 2022 festival in Prangins, Switzerland.
Ms. Barclay completed her Artist Diploma in Voice at The Glenn Gould School in Toronto, ON in 2021. She holds a Master of Music degree in Opera from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver BC, as well as an Honours Bachelor of Music degree from Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, ON.
Ms. Barclay grew up in Ottawa, ON, and has a vested interest in curly hair products, craft beer, and befriending the neighbourhood cats. Of Sri Lankan heritage on her mother's side, she also enjoys a good curry, pol sambol, and all the Sri Lankan short eats she can possibly get her hands on.