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 operatic soprano roles characterized by flexibility and embellishments such as runs and trills, with a strong head voice including abilities in the whistle register, or the female voice that sings such roles (coloratura soprano).

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 in different musical genres:

• 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.

• Each character in Rossini's operas has to have a secure coloratura technique.

• 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, that is, they had to be able to add ornamentations to the written music.

The term coloratura soprano may be used for:

• A soprano acuto sfogato, i.e. a very high and acrobatic soprano with a range extending to the high F, such as the "Queen of the Night" in Die Zauberflöte (Mozart). An example of a classical coloratura is Beverly Sills.
• A soprano leggero, a very flexible light soprano, often used in soubrette roles, such as 'Zerlina' in Don Giovanni (Mozart)
• A high lyric soprano, such as Sofie in Der Rosenkavalier (Richard Strauss); 'Blondchen' in The Abduction from the Seraglio (Mozart)
• Female roles in Chinese opera involving vocals with numerous trills and inflections.

Occasionally the term coloratura soprano is used to describe a non-classical singer, always denoting a singer of acrobatic range, easily accessing whistle register. Mariah Carey, Minnie Riperton, Shanice, Christina Aguilera and Debelah Morgan are examples of popular music coloratura sopranos.

Musical terminology | Opera terminology

Koloratur | Coloratura | Sopran koloraturowy | Koloratuuri | Koloratur