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Coloratura, syllabificationcol·or·a·tu·ra[1] orcol·o·ra·tur·a[2] (ˌkələrə'to͝orə;[2][1] alternatively, first syllable, ˌkäl-;[2] alternatively, fourth syllable -'tu̇r- or -ˈtyu̇r-[1]) refers to apassage of music, especially vocal operatic music,[2] that is characterised by rapidity and elaborate embellishment or ornamentation that includesmusical runs,trills, "or similarvirtuoso-like material".[3][1][2] The presence of coloratura in a musical piece typically obscures the melody within the passage.[not verified in body][dubious –discuss]
More generally,coloratura can be understood to mean any music "with ornate figuration",[1] and then connotations ofcoloratura broaden further still to include the operatic roles in which such vocal embellishment plays a large part, and then to its singers, in particular sopranos with a "light agile voice[s]" that specialise in singing such parts.[1][4][full citation needed][2]
Such coloratura, for sopranos and otherwise, is often found in the vocal melodies of arias of the 18th and 19th centuries (appearing asaria di coloratura,aria di bravura, andKoloraturarie);[3][4][full citation needed] an example cited as famous is the aria of the operatic character, the Queen of the Night, inMozart'sZauberflöte (The Magic Flute).[3][5][4][full citation needed]
However, despite the popular understanding associating the term withcoloratura sopranos,[1][2] the term is not formally restricted to a particular voice range, and any voice type might achieve mastery ofcoloratura techniques.[4][full citation needed] Moreover, coloratura is not limited to particular musicalgenres[4][full citation needed], and use of the term has conflictingly also been applied to particular instrumental "ornamentation formulas" (e.g., for keyboard and lute of the 16th-century), where the term ofColorists (GermanKoloristen) coined byA.G. Ritter more specifically applies.[3] (In instrumental music, such passages are more often calledornamentation.[not verified in body][disputed (for: being discrepant with related content in the "Modern usage" section.) –discuss])
The origin of the termcoloratura, in its application to vocal embellishment, is usually attributed to the Italian, of 17th century, for "coloring",[1][2][3] and that from the Latincolōrātus, deriving from the verb "to color".[1] Argument is made in a reliable source that, depite having been "attributed to Italian in German dictionaries since the 17th century", its apparent first appearance in a musical sense was in a German work, asColoraturen, byMichael Praetorius, in hisSyntagmatis musici tomus tertius in 1619.[1]
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The termcoloratura was first defined in several early non-Italian music dictionaries:Michael Praetorius'sSyntagma musicum (1618);Sébastien de Brossard'sDictionaire de musique (1703); andJohann Gottfried Walther'sMusicalisches Lexicon (1732). In these early texts "the term is dealt with briefly and always with reference to Italian usage".[6][failed verification]
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Christoph Bernhard (1628–1692) definedcoloratura in two ways:
The term was never used in the most famous Italian texts on singing:Giulio Caccini'sLe Nuove musiche (1601/2);Pier Francesco Tosi's,Opinioni de' cantori antichi e moderni (1723);Giovanni Battista Mancini'sPensieri, e riflessioni pratiche sopra il canto figurato (1774);Manuel García'sMémoire sur la voix humaine (1841), andTraité complet de l’art du chant (1840–47); nor was it used by the English authorsCharles Burney (1726–1814) andHenry Fothergill Chorley (1808–1872), both of whom wrote at length about Italian singing of a period when ornamentation was essential.[6][failed verification]
 | This section'sfactual accuracy may be compromised due to out-of-date information. The reason given is:Section covers 15th-18th centuries—theGilbert Duprez and the 1830s is a mention of a matternot germane—thus this section only continues the coverage of the History section, omitting nearly all of the last 300 years. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(November 2025) |
The termcoloratura is most commonly applied to the elaborate and florid figuration or ornamentation inclassical (late 18th century) andromantic (19th century, specificallybel canto) vocal music. However, early music of the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries, and in particular,baroque music extending up to about 1750, includes a substantial body of music for which coloratura technique is required by vocalists and instrumentalists alike. In the modern musicological sense the term is therefore used to refer to florid music from all periods of music history, both vocal and instrumental.[disputed (for: being discrepant with related content in the article lead, cf.WP:Lead.) –discuss][6][failed verification] For example, in Germany the termcoloratura (German:Koloratur) has been applied to the stereotypical and formulaic ornamentation used in 16th‑century keyboard music written by a group of German organ composers referred to as the "colorists" (German:Koloristen).[3][disputed (for: being discrepant with related content in the article lead, cf.WP:Lead.) –discuss]
Despite its derivation from Latincolorare ("to color"), the term does not apply to the practice of "coloring" the voice,i.e. altering the quality ortimbre of the voice for expressive purposes (for example, the technique ofvoix sombrée used byGilbert Duprez in the 1830s).[6][failed verification]
The term is not restricted to describing any one range of voice. All female and male voice types may achieve mastery of coloratura technique. There are coloratura parts for all voice types in different musicalgenres.[4][full citation needed]
Nevertheless, the termcoloratura, when used without further qualification, normally means acoloratura soprano. This role, most famously typified by the Queen of the Night inMozart'sThe Magic Flute,[5] has a high range and requires the singer to execute with great facility elaborate ornamentation and embellishment, including running passages,staccati, andtrills. A coloratura soprano has the vocal ability to produce notes above high C (C6) and possesses atessitura ranging from A4 to A5 or higher (unlike lower sopranos whose tessitura is G4–G5 or lower).[citation needed]
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Richard Miller names two types of soprano coloratura voices (the coloratura and the dramatic coloratura)[9] as well as a mezzo-soprano coloratura voice,[10] and although he does not mention the coloratura contralto, he includes mention of specific works requiring coloratura technique for the contralto voice.[10]
Examples of the broader possibilities for coloratura in different voice ranges include:[original research?][dubious –discuss]
More generally, singers of major roles inRossini operas must have a secure coloratura technique.[dubious –discuss][citation needed]
coloratura noun / col·or·a·tu·ra ˌkə-lə-rə-ˈtu̇r-ə [alt. 4th syl.] -ˈtyu̇r- /often attributive /1 :elaborate embellishment in vocal music /broadly : music with ornate figuration /2 : a soprano with a light agile voice specializing in coloratura ...Etymology / borrowed from 17th-century Italian, "coloring," from Latincolōrātus, past participle ofcolōrāre "to COLOR entry 2" + Italian-ura [see the Latin-derived noun suffix] -URE / NOTE: Though conventionally attributed to Italian in German dictionaries since the 17th century, the word apparently first appears in a musical sense in German (asColoraturen, given as a synonym of LatinDiminutiones "diminutions," in Michael Praetorius,Syntagmatis musici tomus tertius, Wolfenbüttel, 1619, p. 232).
col·o·ra·tur·a /ˌkələrə'to͝orə, ˌkäl-/ ▶noun 1 elaborate ornamentation of a vocal melody, especially in opera.2 a soprano skilled in coloratura singing. – ORIGIN Italian, 'coloring.'
Coloratura [It.] A rapid passage, run, trill, or similar virtuoso-like material, particularly in vocal melodies of the 18th- and 19th-century operatic arias:aria do coloratura,aria di bravura,Koloraturarie. A famous example is the aria of the Queen of the Night in Mozart'sZauberflöte. The term is also used for the stereotyped ornamentation formulas of the 16th-century keyboard and lute music [seeColorists... G.Koloristen]. A name introduced by A. G. Ritter... where "It." and "G." abbreviate "Italian" and "German", respectively.For the Wikipedia article on this source, seeHarvard Dictionary of Music.
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