coloratura

English

Etymology

From Italian coloratura, from Late Latin colōrātūra, from colōrāre (“to colour”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kɒləɹəˈtjʊɹə/
• Rhymes: -ʊəɹə

Noun

coloratura (countable and uncountable, plural coloraturas)

1. (uncountable) Florid or fancy passages in vocal music.
   • 2004, The Video Librarian, volume 19, page 71:

     The singing is generally excellent, with Simon Keenlyside standing out for his richly vocalized (and amusingly dour) Papageno and Diana Damrau for her spot-on coloratura and genuine venom as the Queen of the Night.

2. (countable) A singer of such passages, especially a soprano.
   • 1980, Anthony Burgess, Earthly Powers:

     The middle one, of course, was the coloratura Julia Kristeva, known as the most voluptuous Salome in the business.

Translations

fancy passage in vocal music

• Finnish: kuviolaulu, koloratuuri (fi)
• French: colorature (fr) f
• German: Koloratur (de) f
• Italian: coloratura f
• Polish: koloratura (pl) f
• Portuguese: coloratura f

type of singer

• Finnish: koloratuurilaulaja (generic); koloratuurisopraano (fi) (soprano)

Adjective

coloratura (comparative more coloratura, superlative most coloratura)

1. Pertaining to coloratura.

   She has a lighter and more coloratura voice.

   • 1960, P[elham] G[renville] Wodehouse, chapter XII, in Jeeves in the Offing, London: Herbert Jenkins, →OCLC:

     I drew a deep breath, this time fortunately unmixed with gin and tonic. I was profoundly stirred. “You mean,” I said, my voice quavering like that of a coloratura soprano, “that I went through that soul-shattering experience all for nothing?”

Italian

Etymology

From colorare +‎ -tura.

Noun

coloratura f (plural colorature)

1. colouration/coloration, colouring/coloring
2. (music) virtuosic ornamentation of a melody

Latin

Participle

colōrātūra

1. inflection of colōrātūrus:
   1. nominative/vocative feminine singular
   2. nominative/accusative/vocative neuter plural

Participle

colōrātūrā

1. ablative feminine singular of colōrātūrus

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /koloɾaˈtuɾa/ [ko.lo.ɾaˈt̪u.ɾa]
• Rhymes: -uɾa
• Syllabification: co‧lo‧ra‧tu‧ra

Noun

coloratura f (plural coloraturas)

1. (music) coloratura

Further reading

• “coloratura”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), 23rd edition, Royal Spanish Academy, 2014 October 16