Coloratura soprano
A coloratura soprano is a type of
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 operatic singing of the 18th and 19th centuries. The word coloratura (UK: /ˌkɒlərəˈtjʊərə/ COL-ə-rə-TURE-ə, US: /ˌkʌl-/ CUL-, Italian: [koloraˈtuːra]) means 'coloring' in Italian, and derives from the Latin word colorare 'to color'.[1]
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 (
Lyric coloratura soprano roles
Source:[3]
- Adele, Die Fledermaus (Johann Strauss)
- Adina, L'elisir d'amore (Donizetti)
- Agrippina, Agrippina (Handel)
- Alcina, Alcina (Handel)
- Almirena, Rinaldo (Handel)
- Alzira, Verdi)
- Amenaide, Tancredi (Rossini)
- Amina, La sonnambula (Bellini)
- Angelica, Orlando (Handel)
- Ariel, The Tempest (Thomas Adès)
- Aspasia, Mozart)
- Bianca, Bianca e Fernando (Bellini)
- Blonde, Die Entführung aus dem Serail (Mozart)
- Bystrouška, Janáček)
- Carolina, Il matrimonio segreto (Cimarosa)
- Celia, Lucio Silla (Mozart)
- Cleopatra, Giulio Cesare (George Frideric Handel)
- La Comtesse Adèle, Le comte Ory (Rossini)
- Cunegonde, Candide (Bernstein)
- Dalinda, Ariodante (Handel)
- Dinorah, Le pardon de Ploërmel (Giacomo Meyerbeer)
- Dorinda, Orlando (Handel)
- Elisa, Il re pastore (Mozart)
- Elizabeth Doe, The Ballad of Baby Doe (Douglas Moore)
- Elvira, I puritani (Bellini)
- Elvira, L'italiana in Algeri (Rossini)
- Eurydice, Orpheus in the Underworld (Offenbach)
- Fatime, Abu Hassan (Weber)
- La Fée, Massenet)
- Le feu/La princesse/Le rossignol, Ravel)
- Fiakermilli, Arabella (Richard Strauss)
- Frasquita, Bizet)
- Freia, Der Ring des Nibelungen (Wagner)
- Gilda, Rigoletto (Verdi)
- Giulietta, I Capuleti e i Montecchi (Bellini)
- Ilia, Idomeneo (Mozart)
- Inès, L'Africaine (Giacomo Meyerbeer)
- Ismene, Mitridate, re di Ponto (Mozart)
- Isotta, Die schweigsame Frau (Richard Strauss)
- Juliette, Gounod)
- Lakmé, Lakmé (Delibes)
- Léïla, Les pêcheurs de perles (Bizet)
- Leticia, The Exterminating Angel (opera) (Adès)
- Linda di Chamounix, Linda di Chamounix (Donizetti)
- Lisa, La sonnambula (Bellini)
- Lucy, The Telephone (Menotti)
- Madame Herz, Der Schauspieldirektor (Mozart)
- Madame Mao, Nixon in China (John Adams)
- Marguérite, Faust (Charles Gounod)
- Marie, La fille du régiment (Donizetti)
- Moll Hackabout, A Harlot's Progress (Iain Bell)
- Morgana, Alcina (Handel)
- Nachtigall, Die Vögel (Walter Braunfels)
- The Nightingale, Stravinsky)
- Norina, Don Pasquale (Donizetti)
- Olympia, The Tales of Hoffmann (Offenbach)
- Ophélie, Hamlet (Ambroise Thomas)
- Oscar, trouser role
- Philine, Mignon (Ambroise Thomas)
- Philomele, The Love of the Nightingale (Richard Mills)
- The Queen, Dusapin)
- The Queen of Chemakha, The Golden Cockerel (Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov)
- Rosina, (in the Soprano key) The Barber of Seville (Rossini)
- Silvia, Ascanio in Alba (Mozart)
- Tamyris, Il re pastore (Mozart)
- Tinti, Schoeck)
- Tytania, Britten)
- Undine, Lortzing)
- Venus, Ascanio in Alba (Mozart)
- Waldvogel, Der Ring des Nibelungen (Wagner)
- Zemire, Zémire et Azor (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
, 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:[3]
- Abigaille, Nabucco (Verdi)
- Alaide, La straniera (Bellini)
- Amalia, I masnadieri (Verdi)
- Aminta, Die schweigsame Frau (Richard Strauss)
- Anne, The Rake's Progress (Stravinsky)
- Anna Bolena, Anna Bolena (Donizetti)
- Armida, Rinaldo (Handel)
- Armida, Armida (Rossini)
- Bertalda, Lortzing)
- Chief of the Secret Police Gepopo, Le Grand Macabre (Ligeti)
- Donna Anna, Don Giovanni (Mozart)
- Elettra, Idomeneo (Mozart)
- Elena, La donna del lago (Rossini)
- Elisabetta, Maria Stuarda, Roberto Devereux (Donizetti)
- Elvira, Ernani (Verdi)
- Esclarmonde, Esclarmonde (Massenet)
- Europa, Europa riconosciuta (Salieri)
- Fauno, 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)
- Leonora, Il trovatore (Verdi)
- Lida, La battaglia di Legnano (Verdi)
- Lina, Stiffelio (Verdi)
- Lucia, Lucia di Lammermoor (Donizetti)
- Lucrezia, Lucrezia Borgia (Donizetti)
- Lucrezia, I due Foscari (Verdi)
- Luisa Miller, Luisa Miller (Verdi)
- Marchesa del Poggio, Un giorno di regno (Verdi)
- Marguérite, Faust (Gounod)
- Marguérite de Valois, Les Huguenots (Meyerbeer)
- Maria Stuarda, Maria Stuarda (Donizetti)
- Mathilde, William Tell (Rossini)
- Medora, Il corsaro (Verdi)
- Norma, Norma (Bellini)
- Odabella, Attila (Verdi)
- Poppea, Monteverdi)
- Queen of the Night, Die Zauberflöte(Mozart)
- Rodelinda, Rodelinda (Handel)
- Rosalinde, Die Fledermaus (Johann Strauss)
- Die Schneekönigin, Die Schneekönigin (Albrecht)
- Semiramide, Semiramide (Rossini)
- Thaïs, Thaïs (Massenet)
- Violetta, La traviata (Verdi)
- Vitellia, La clemenza di Tito (Mozart)
- Woglinde, Der Ring des Nibelungen (Wagner)
Soprano acuto sfogato
In rare instances, some coloratura sopranos are able to sing
Although both lyric and dramatic coloraturas can be acuto sfogato sopranos, the primary attribute of the acuto sfogato soprano is an upper extension above F6.[6] 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 G6 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 (A6) for the character of Leticia Meynar in 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
References
Notes
- ^ Oxford American Dictionaries.
- ^ Dolmetsch Online – Music Dictionary Vm–Vz: "soprano leggiero": "also called a coloratura-singer, but only reaching e′′′"
- ^ a b c Boldrey 1994, various
- ^ Coffin 1960, p. [page needed].
- ^ Apel 1968, p. [page needed].
- ^ "Vox Mentor – Voice Categories". Archived from the original on 2008-10-07. Retrieved 2008-05-18.
Cited sources
- Apel, Willi (1968). Harvard Dictionary of Music: Second Edition. Belknap Press. ISBN 978-0-674-37501-7.
- Boldrey, Richard (1994). Guide to Operatic Roles and Arias. Caldwell Publishing. ISBN 978-1-877761-64-5.
- Coffin, Berton (1960). Singer's Repertoire: Part I: coloratura, soprano, lyric soprano and dramatic soprano. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-0188-2.
Other sources
- Boldrey, Richard; Robert Caldwell; Werner Singer; Joan Wall; Roger Pines (1992). Singer's Edition (Light Lyric Soprano): Operatic Arias – Light Lyric Soprano. Caldwell Publishing. ISBN 978-1-877761-02-7.
- Boldrey, Richard; Robert Caldwell; Werner Singer; Joan Wall; Roger Pines (1992). Singer's Edition (Soubrette): Operatic Arias – Soubrette. Caldwell Publishing. ISBN 978-1-877761-03-4.