from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
- n. Music The ornamentation of music written for the voice with florid passages, especially trills and runs.
- n. Music Vocal music characterized by florid ornamental passages.
- n. Music A singer, especially a soprano, specializing in such ornamentation.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
- n. plural florid or fancy passages in vocal music
- n. singular a singer of such passages, especially a soprano
- adj. Pertaining to coloratura.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- n. singing with florid ornamentation
- n. a lyric soprano who specializes in coloratura vocal music
It also showed an ability to sing coloratura, which is a fast, fluid way of singing music that is ordinarily not that easy for the more dramatic singers.
It also showed an ability to sing coloratura, which is a fast, fluid way of singing music that is ordinarily not easy for the more dramatic singers.
Now, the French soprano, 45 years old, returns to a part designed for a singer who can handle "coloratura" — elaborate trills and zippy singing.
They clearly love playing for him and grabbed every opportunity to thrill us with their classy reading of Rachmaninov's arching, aching second symphony, which was a perfect companion for the evening's curio, Glière's Concerto for coloratura soprano and orchestra though nearly 40 years apart, they share the same lush, chromatic harmonic language.
Called “La Stupenda,” she combined the heft of a Wagnerian singer with the agility and upper register of a coloratura soprano, leading to powerful interpretations of great bel canto roles that had lain dormant for decades -- following in the wake of Maria Callas, who had spearheaded their initial revival.
Bonynge also helped guide her away from the Wagnerian track that might have seemed to be a natural for someone of her vocal endowments, and into the realm of the coloratura soprano.
And then came the extra enchantment: a magnificent coloratura voice emerged from this petite five-footer, one that could hold its own with Lauritz Melchior, the renowned Wagnerian tenor.
The four soprano parts have so many notes high above the stave, and so much coloratura, that they are usually shared by at least two singers.
Gaetano Donizetti Naples, Italy, 1835No one provides a better coloratura "mad scene" – a 19th-century Romantic opera habit – than Donizetti in Lucia, based on Walter Scott's The Bride of Lammermoor.
Once again there are roles requiring coloratura facility (Rosina in The Barber of Seville), lyric roles (Charlotte in Werther) and dramatic roles (Amneris in Aida, Ortrud in Lohengrin).