Coloratura

Coloratura is an ornate, flowery style in classical singing.

The term is correctly applied to any passage sung in this manner by any voice type, but it is also commonly used as a noun to describe soprano roles characterized by embellishments such as runs and trills, or the female voice that sings such roles.

The term "coloratura soprano" may be used for:

• A soprano acuto sfogato, i.e. a very high and acrobatic soprano with a range extending above the high F, such as the "Queen of the Night" in Mozart's The Magic Flute
• A very flexible light soprano, often used in soubrette roles, such as 'Blondchen' in The Abduction from the Seraglio (Mozart)
• A high lyric soprano, such as Sofie in Der Rosenkavalier (Richard Strauss)

Although most often associated with the soprano voice, the term coloratura as such does not say anything about the colour or range of the voice. There are coloratura parts for all voice types:

• Mozart's Allelujah (from Exsultate, jubilate) may be arranged for and sung by a properly trained contralto, mezzo soprano or soprano.

• The aria Every Valley Shall be Exalted from Handel's Messiah is an example of a coloratura piece for tenor.

• Osmin, a character in Mozart's The Abduction from the Seraglio, is a coloratura role for a bass.

In the bel canto era, all singers had to be coloratura specialists, i.e. able to add ornamentations to the written music.