Photo: Gaetz Photography
Praised for her “sparkly coloratura” (Opera Ramblings) and “[being] full of character and spot on in timing and delivery” (Review Vancouver), soprano Thera Barclay is in demand as an interpreter of operatic, recital, and concert repertoire. She is the recipient of many scholarships and awards for her achievements in music, including the Sheila K. Piercey Vocal Scholarship, the Lillian and Don Wright National Voice Travel and Study Scholarship, and various other prizes in the Kiwanis Music Festival and NATS Competition. She has graced stages across the nation, having performed in Ontario, Nova Scotia, and British Columbia, as well as internationally in Berlin, Germany, and Sulmona, Italy.
Most recently, Ms. Barclay was selected as a Participant in the Canadian National Opera Auditions, where only 10-15 singers were selected from across the country. She was also a Jeune Talent/Young Talent participant in the Prangins Baroque 2022 festival in Prangins, Switzerland. Other performance highlights include Tatyana (cover) in Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin (Opéra Queens), Arsinoë in Dr. J Marchand Knight’s Cleopatra Built (Opéra Queens), Mabel in Gilbert & Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance (Centre for Opera Studies and Appreciation), Barbarina in Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro (Nóżki Opera), Lucia in Britten's The Rape of Lucretia (The Glenn Gould School), Diana in Jonathan Dove’s Siren Song (The Glenn Gould School), Zweite Dame and Papagena in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte (Berlin Opera Academy; University of British Columbia Opera), Poppea in Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea (Halifax Summer Opera Festival), Lauretta and Nella in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi (University of British Columbia Opera; Wilfrid Laurier University Opera), and La Zelatrice and Suor Genovieffa in Puccini’s Suor Angelica (The Glenn Gould School; The Centre for Opera Studies in Italy).
Ms. Barclay completed her Artist Diploma in Voice at The Glenn Gould School. 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 and craft beer. 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.