View source for Coloratura soprano

{{short description|Type of singing voice}}
A '''coloratura soprano''' ({{langx|it|soprano di coloratura}}) is a type of [[opera]]tic [[soprano]] voice that specializes in music that is distinguished by agile [[run (music)|runs]], leaps and [[Trill (music)|trills]].

The term ''[[coloratura]]'' refers to the elaborate ornamentation of a melody, which is a typical component of the music written for this voice. Within the coloratura category, there are roles written specifically for lighter voices known as lyric coloraturas and others for larger voices known as dramatic coloraturas. Categories within a certain [[vocal range]] are determined by the size, weight and color of the voice. Coloratura is particularly found in vocal music and especially in [[opera]]tic singing of the 18th and 19th centuries.

==Lyric coloratura soprano==
A very agile light voice with a high upper extension, capable of fast vocal coloratura. Lyric coloraturas have a range of approximately middle C ([[Scientific pitch notation|C<sub>4</sub>]]) to "high F" (F<sub>6</sub>). Such a soprano is sometimes referred to as a '''soprano leggero''' if her vocal timbre has a slightly warmer quality. The soprano leggero also typically does not go as high as other coloraturas, peaking at a "high E" (E<sub>6</sub>).<ref>[http://www.dolmetsch.com/defsv2.htm Dolmetsch Online – Music Dictionary Vm–Vz: "soprano leggiero"<!-- sic -->]: "also called a coloratura-singer, but only reaching e′′′{{-"}}</ref> [[Bel canto]] roles were typically written for this voice, and a wide variety of other composers have also written [[coloratura]] parts. [[Baroque music]], [[early music]] and [[baroque opera]] also have many roles for this voice.<ref name="guide">{{harvnb|Boldrey|1994|loc=various}}</ref>

===Lyric coloratura soprano roles===
'''Source:'''<ref name="guide" />
{{column list|colwidth=30em|
* Adele, ''[[Die Fledermaus]]'' ([[Johann Strauss II|Johann Strauss]])
* Adina, ''[[L'elisir d'amore]]'' ([[Gaetano Donizetti|Donizetti]])
* Agrippina, ''[[Agrippina (opera)|Agrippina]]'' ([[George Frideric Handel|Handel]])
* Alcina, ''[[Alcina]]'' ([[George Frideric Handel|Handel]])
* Almirena, ''[[Rinaldo (opera)|Rinaldo]]'' ([[George Frideric Handel|Handel]])
* Alzira, ''[[Alzira (opera)|Alzira]]'' ([[Verdi]])
* Amenaide, ''[[Tancredi]]'' ([[Gioachino Rossini|Rossini]])
* Amina, ''[[La sonnambula]]'' ([[Vincenzo Bellini|Bellini]])
* Angelica, ''[[Orlando (opera)|Orlando]]'' ([[George Frideric Handel|Handel]])
* Ariel, ''[[The Tempest (opera)|The Tempest]]'' ([[Thomas Adès]])
* Aspasia, ''[[Mitridate, re di Ponto]]'' ([[Mozart]])
* Bianca, ''[[Bianca e Fernando]]'' ([[Vincenzo Bellini|Bellini]])
* Blonde, ''[[Die Entführung aus dem Serail]]'' ([[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|Mozart]])
* Bystrouška, ''[[The Cunning Little Vixen]]'' ([[Janáček]])
* Carolina, ''[[Il matrimonio segreto]]'' ([[Domenico Cimarosa|Cimarosa]])
* Celia, ''[[Lucio Silla]]'' ([[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|Mozart]])
* Cleopatra, ''[[Giulio Cesare]]'' ([[George Frideric Handel]])
* La Comtesse Adèle, ''[[Le comte Ory]]'' ([[Gioachino Rossini|Rossini]])
* Cunegonde, ''[[Candide (operetta)|Candide]]'' ([[Leonard Bernstein|Bernstein]])
* Dalinda, ''[[Ariodante]]'' ([[George Frideric Handel|Handel]])
* Dinorah, ''[[Le pardon de Ploërmel]]'' ([[Giacomo Meyerbeer]])
* Dorinda, ''[[Orlando (opera)|Orlando]]'' ([[George Frideric Handel|Handel]])
* Elisa, ''[[Il re pastore]]'' ([[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|Mozart]])
* Elizabeth Doe, ''[[The Ballad of Baby Doe]]'' ([[Douglas Moore]])
* Elvira, ''[[I puritani]]'' ([[Vincenzo Bellini|Bellini]])
* Elvira, ''[[L'italiana in Algeri]]'' ([[Gioachino Rossini|Rossini]])
* Eurydice, ''[[Orpheus in the Underworld]]'' ([[Jacques Offenbach|Offenbach]])
* Fatime, ''[[Abu Hassan]]'' ([[Carl Maria von Weber|Weber]])
* La Fée, ''[[Cendrillon (Massenet)|Cendrillon]]'' ([[Massenet]])
* Le feu/La princesse/Le rossignol, ''[[L'enfant et les sortilèges]]'' ([[Ravel]])
* Fiakermilli, ''[[Arabella]]'' ([[Richard Strauss]])
* Frasquita, ''[[Carmen]]'' ([[Bizet]])
* Freia, ''[[Der Ring des Nibelungen]]'' ([[Richard Wagner|Wagner]])
* Gilda, ''[[Rigoletto]]'' ([[Giuseppe Verdi|Verdi]])
* Giulietta, ''[[I Capuleti e i Montecchi]]'' ([[Vincenzo Bellini|Bellini]])
* Ilia, ''[[Idomeneo]]'' ([[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|Mozart]])
* Inès, ''[[L'Africaine]]'' ([[Giacomo Meyerbeer]])
* Ismene, ''[[Mitridate, re di Ponto]]'' ([[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|Mozart]])
* Isotta, ''[[Die schweigsame Frau]]'' ([[Richard Strauss]])
* Juliette, ''[[Roméo et Juliette]]'' ([[Gounod]])
* Lakmé, ''[[Lakmé]]'' ([[Léo Delibes|Delibes]])
* Léïla, ''[[Les pêcheurs de perles]]'' ([[Georges Bizet|Bizet]])
* Leticia, ''[[The Exterminating Angel (opera)]]'' ([[Thomas Adès|Adès]])
* Linda di Chamounix, ''[[Linda di Chamounix]]'' ([[Gaetano Donizetti|Donizetti]])
* Lisa, ''[[La sonnambula]]'' ([[Vincenzo Bellini|Bellini]])
* Lucy, ''[[The Telephone (opera)|The Telephone]]'' ([[Gian Carlo Menotti|Menotti]])
* Madame Herz, ''[[Der Schauspieldirektor]]'' ([[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|Mozart]])
* Madame Mao, ''[[Nixon in China]]'' ([[John Adams (composer)|John Adams]])
* Marguérite, ''[[Faust (opera)|Faust]]'' ([[Charles Gounod]])
* Marie, ''[[La fille du régiment]]'' ([[Gaetano Donizetti|Donizetti]])
* Moll Hackabout, ''[[A Harlot's Progress (opera)|A Harlot's Progress]]'' ([[Iain Bell]])
* Morgana, ''[[Alcina]]'' ([[George Frideric Handel|Handel]])
* Nachtigall, ''[[Die Vögel (opera)|Die Vögel]]'' ([[Walter Braunfels]])
* The Nightingale, ''[[The Nightingale (opera)|The Nightingale]]'' ([[Stravinsky]])
* Norina, ''[[Don Pasquale]]'' ([[Gaetano Donizetti|Donizetti]])
* Olympia, ''[[The Tales of Hoffmann]]'' ([[Jacques Offenbach|Offenbach]])
* Ophélie, ''[[Hamlet (opera)|Hamlet]]'' ([[Ambroise Thomas]])
* Oscar, ''[[Un ballo in maschera]]'' ([[Giuseppe Verdi|Verdi]]) – [[trouser role]]
* Philine, ''[[Mignon]]'' ([[Ambroise Thomas]])
* Philomele, ''[[The Love of the Nightingale (opera)|The Love of the Nightingale]]'' ([[Richard Mills (composer)|Richard Mills]])
* The Queen, ''[[Perelà, uomo di fumo]]'' ([[Dusapin]])
* The Queen of Chemakha, ''[[The Golden Cockerel]]'' ([[Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov]])
* Rosina, (in the Soprano key) ''[[The Barber of Seville]]'' ([[Gioachino Rossini|Rossini]])
* Silvia, ''[[Ascanio in Alba]]'' ([[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|Mozart]])
* Tamyris, ''[[Il re pastore]]'' ([[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|Mozart]])
* Tinti, ''[[List of compositions by Othmar Schoeck#Opera|Massimilla Doni]]'' ([[Schoeck]])
* Tytania, ''[[A Midsummer Night's Dream (opera)|A Midsummer Night's Dream]]'' ([[Britten]])
* Undine, ''[[Undine (Lortzing)|Undine]]'' ([[Lortzing]])
* Venus, ''[[Ascanio in Alba]]'' ([[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|Mozart]])
* Waldvogel, ''[[Der Ring des Nibelungen]]'' ([[Richard Wagner|Wagner]])
* Zemire, ''[[Zémire et Azor]]'' ([[André Grétry|Grétry]])
* Zerbinetta, ''[[Ariadne auf Naxos]]'' ([[Richard Strauss]])
}}

==Dramatic coloratura soprano==
A coloratura soprano with great flexibility in high-lying velocity passages, yet with great sustaining power comparable to that of a full [[spinto]] or [[dramatic soprano]]. Dramatic coloraturas have a range of approximately "low A" (A<sub>3</sub>) to "high F" (F<sub>6</sub>). Various dramatic coloratura roles have different vocal demands for the singer – for instance, the voice that can sing Abigail ({{Lang|it|Nabucco}}, Verdi) is unlikely to also sing Lucia ({{Lang|it|Lucia di Lammermoor}}, Donizetti), but a factor in common is that the voice must be able to convey dramatic intensity as well as flexibility. Roles written specifically for this kind of voice include the more dramatic [[Mozart]] and [[bel canto]] female roles and early [[Verdi]].{{sfn|Coffin|1960|p={{page needed|date=April 2018}}}} This is a rare vocal [[fach]], as thick vocal cords are needed to produce the large, dramatic notes, which usually lessens the flexibility and acrobatic abilities of the voice.

===Dramatic coloratura soprano roles===
'''Source:'''<ref name="guide" />

{{column list|colwidth=30em|
* Abigaille, ''[[Nabucco]]'' ([[Giuseppe Verdi|Verdi]])
* Alaide, ''[[La straniera]]'' ([[Vincenzo Bellini|Bellini]])
* Amalia, ''[[I masnadieri]]'' (Verdi)
* Aminta, ''[[Die schweigsame Frau]]'' ([[Richard Strauss]])
* Anne, ''[[The Rake's Progress]]'' ([[Igor Stravinsky|Stravinsky]])
* Anna Bolena, ''[[Anna Bolena]]'' ([[Gaetano Donizetti|Donizetti]])
* Armida, ''[[Rinaldo (opera)|Rinaldo]]'' ([[George Frideric Handel|Handel]])
* Armida, ''[[Armida (Rossini)|Armida]]'' ([[Gioachino Rossini|Rossini]])
* Bertalda, ''[[Undine (Lortzing)|Undine]]'' ([[Lortzing]])
* Chief of the Secret Police Gepopo, ''[[Le Grand Macabre]]'' ([[György Ligeti|Ligeti]])
* Donna Anna, ''[[Don Giovanni]]'' ([[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|Mozart]])
* Elettra, ''[[Idomeneo]]'' (Mozart)
* Elena, ''[[La donna del lago]]'' (Rossini)
* Elisabetta, ''[[Maria Stuarda]]'', ''[[Roberto Devereux]]'' (Donizetti)
* Elvira, ''[[Ernani]]'' (Verdi)
* Empress, ''[[Die Frau ohne Schatten]]'' (R. Strauss)
* Esclarmonde, ''[[Esclarmonde]]'' ([[Jules Massenet|Massenet]])
* Europa, ''[[Europa riconosciuta]]'' ([[Antonio Salieri|Salieri]])
* Fauno, ''[[Ascanio in Alba]]'' (Mozart) – [[trouser role]]
* Fiordiligi, ''[[Così fan tutte]]'' (Mozart)
* Giovanna, ''[[Giovanna d'Arco]]'' (Verdi)
* Giulietta, ''[[I Capuleti e i Montecchi]]'' (Bellini)
* Giunia, ''[[Lucio Silla]]'' (Mozart)
* Hélène, ''[[Jérusalem]]'' (Verdi)
* Imogene, ''[[Il pirata]]'' (Bellini)
* Konstanze, ''[[Die Entführung aus dem Serail]]'' (Mozart)
* La Contessa, ''[[The Marriage of Figaro]]'' (Mozart)
* Lady Macbeth, ''[[Macbeth (Verdi)|Macbeth]]'' (Verdi)
* Leonora, ''[[Il trovatore]]'' (Verdi)
* Lida, ''[[La battaglia di Legnano]]'' (Verdi)
* Lina, ''[[Stiffelio]]'' (Verdi)
* Lucia, ''[[Lucia di Lammermoor]]'' (Donizetti)
* Lucrezia, ''[[Lucrezia Borgia (opera)|Lucrezia Borgia]]'' (Donizetti)
* Lucrezia, ''[[I due Foscari]]'' (Verdi)
* Luisa Miller, ''[[Luisa Miller]]'' (Verdi)
* Marchesa del Poggio, ''[[Un giorno di regno]]'' (Verdi)
* Marguérite, ''[[Faust (opera)|Faust]]'' (Gounod)
* Marguérite de Valois, ''[[Les Huguenots]]'' ([[Giacomo Meyerbeer|Meyerbeer]])
* Maria Stuarda, ''[[Maria Stuarda]]'' (Donizetti)
* Mathilde, ''[[William Tell (opera)|William Tell]]'' (Rossini)
* Medora, ''[[Il corsaro]]'' (Verdi)
* Norma, ''[[Norma (opera)|Norma]]'' (Bellini)
* Odabella, ''[[Attila (opera)|Attila]]'' (Verdi)
* Poppea, ''[[L'incoronazione di Poppea]]'' ([[Monteverdi]])
* Queen of the Night, ''[[Die Zauberflöte]]'' (Mozart)
* Rodelinda, ''[[Rodelinda (opera)|Rodelinda]]'' (Handel)
* Rosalinde, ''[[Die Fledermaus]]'' ([[Johann Strauss II|Johann Strauss]])
* Die Schneekönigin, ''[[Die Schneekönigin]]'' ([[George Alexander Albrecht|Albrecht]])
* Semiramide, ''[[Semiramide]]'' (Rossini)
* Thaïs, ''[[Thaïs (opera)|Thaïs]]'' ([[Jules Massenet|Massenet]])
* Violetta, ''[[La traviata]]'' (Verdi)
* Vitellia, ''[[La clemenza di Tito]]'' (Mozart)
* Woglinde, ''[[Der Ring des Nibelungen]]'' ([[Richard Wagner|Wagner]])
}}

==Soprano acuto sfogato==
In rare instances, some coloratura sopranos are able to sing ''[[in altissimo]]'' above high F (F<sub>6</sub>). This type of singer is sometimes referred to as a ''soprano acuto sfogato''.{{sfn|Apel|1968|p={{page missing|date=December 2017}}}}

Although both lyric and dramatic coloraturas can be acuto sfogato sopranos, the primary attribute of the acuto sfogato soprano is an upper extension above F<sub>6</sub>.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.voxmentor.com/articles_opinions_2.html |title=Vox Mentor – Voice Categories |access-date=2008-05-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081007150457/http://www.voxmentor.com/articles_opinions_2.html |archive-date=2008-10-07 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Some pedagogues refer to these extreme high notes as the [[whistle register]]. 

Very few composers have ever written operatic roles for this voice type with actual notes scored above high F, so these singers typically display these extreme high notes through the use of interpolation in some of the operatic roles already cited above or in concert works. Examples of works that include G<sub>6</sub> are the concert aria "[[Popoli di Tessaglia!]]"" by Mozart, ''[[Esclarmonde]]'' by Massenet, and ''[[Postcard from Morocco]]'' by [[Dominick Argento]]. [[Thomas Adès]] composed a high A (A<sub>6</sub>) for the character of Leticia Meynar in ''[[The Exterminating Angel (opera)|The Exterminating Angel]]''.

The soprano acuto sfogato is sometimes confused with the [[soprano sfogato]], a singer (often [[mezzo-soprano]]) capable, by sheer industry or natural talent, of extending her upper range to encompass some of the coloratura soprano tessitura, though not the highest range above high F.

==See also==
{{Portal|Opera}}
*[[Lyric soprano]]
*[[Dramatic soprano]]
*[[Soubrette]]
*[[Spinto soprano]]

==References==
'''Notes'''
{{reflist}}

'''Cited sources'''
*{{cite book
|title= Harvard Dictionary of Music: Second Edition
|last= Apel
|first= Willi
|year= 1968
|publisher= Belknap Press
|isbn= 978-0-674-37501-7
|url-access= registration
|url= https://archive.org/details/harvarddictionar0000apel
}}
*{{cite book
|title= Guide to Operatic Roles and Arias
|last= Boldrey
|first= Richard
|year= 1994
|publisher= Caldwell Publishing
|isbn= 978-1-877761-64-5}}
*{{wikicite|ref={{harvid|Coffin|1960}}|reference=Coffin, Berton (1960). ''Singer's Repertoire: Part I: coloratura, soprano, lyric soprano and dramatic soprano''. Scarecrow Press. {{ISBN|978-0-8108-45268}}. Rowman & Littlefield. {{ISBN|978-0-8108-0188-2}}.}}

'''Other sources'''
*{{cite book
|title= Singer's Edition (Light Lyric Soprano): Operatic Arias – Light Lyric Soprano
|last= Boldrey
|first= Richard
|author2= Robert Caldwell |author3=Werner Singer |author4=Joan Wall |author5=Roger Pines
|year= 1992
|publisher= Caldwell Publishing
|isbn= 978-1-877761-02-7|ref=none}}
*{{cite book
|title= Singer's Edition (Soubrette): Operatic Arias – Soubrette
|last= Boldrey
|first= Richard
|author2= Robert Caldwell |author3=Werner Singer |author4= Joan Wall |author5= Roger Pines
|year= 1992
|publisher= Caldwell Publishing
|isbn= 978-1-877761-03-4|ref=none}}

{{Range (music)}}

[[Category:Voice types]]
[[Category:Italian opera terminology]]
[[Category:Operatic sopranos| ]]

[[fr:Soprano#Soprano léger]]