coloratura

American  

[kuhl-er-uh-toor-uh, -tyoor-uh, kol-, kohl-] / ˌkʌl ər əˈtʊər ə, -ˈtyʊər ə, ˌkɒl-, ˌkoʊl- /

Also colorature

noun

1. runs, trills, and other florid decorations in vocal music.

2. a lyric soprano of high range who specializes in such music.

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coloratura British  

/ ˈkɒlərəˌtjʊə, ˌkɒlərəˈtʊərə /

noun

1. 1. (in 18th- and 19th-century arias) a florid virtuoso passage

   2. ( as modifier )

      a coloratura aria

2. Also called: coloratura soprano.  a lyric soprano who specializes in such music

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coloratura Cultural  

1. Elaborate ornamentation in a piece of vocal music. A coloratura soprano is one who can sing such highly ornamented parts.

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Etymology

Origin of coloratura

1730–40; < Italian < Late Latin: literally, coloring. See color, -ate ¹, -ure

Example Sentences

As she scrabbled for a laser pointer in her large handbag, her coloratura was comically on point, though she was inaudible in her middle range during the cabaletta.

From The Wall Street Journal

“But I so love what her voice does on it — how open her coloratura is — that I’ll leave that for her,” she adds.

From Los Angeles Times

She was a coloratura soprano with an almost freakish vocal range — nearly four octaves, it was said, a voice capable, if any voice is, of the wineglass-shattering stunt of legend.

From Los Angeles Times

“She is a lyric coloratura, with a relatively small voice that carries in a big auditorium by virtue of its concentrated tone. And she is a complete actress, in voice and movement.”

From Seattle Times

She was admired for her coloratura singing and feared for her business chops.

From New York Times

Related Words

• singer