 coloratura has several meanings: the word is originally from italian, literally meaning "coloring", and derives from the latin word colorare ("to color").oxford american dictionaries. mac os x. when used in english, the term specifically refers to elaborate melody, particularly in vocal music and especially in operatic singing of the 18th and 19th centuries, with runs, trills, wide leaps, or similar virtuoso-like material.apel (1969), p. 184. its instrumental equivalent is ornamentation. it is also now widely used to refer to passages of such music, operatic roles in which such music plays a prominent part, and singers of these roles.steane, j. b.; jander, owen, "coloratura" in sadie (1992) 1: 907. (see also bel canto.) == historical usage == the term "coloratura" was first defined in several early non-italian music dictionaries: michael praetorius's syntagma musicum (1618); sÃ©bastien de brossard's dictionaire de musique (1703); and johann gottfried walther's musicalisches lexicon (1732). in these early texts "the term is dealt with briefly and always with reference to italian usage".jander, owen; harris, ellen t. "coloratura" in grove music online, www.grovemusic.com. retrieved 27 november 2006. christoph bernhard (1628â1692) defined "coloratura" in two ways: *cadenza: "runs which are not so exactly bound to the bar, but which often extend two, three or more bars further [and] should be made only at chief closes" (von der singe-kunst, oder maniera, c. 1649) *diminution: "when an interval is altered through several shorter notes, so that, instead of one long note, a number of shorter ones rush to the next note through all kinds of progressions by step or leap" (tractatus compositionis, c. 1657) the term was never used in the most famous italian texts on singing: giulio caccini's le nuove musiche (1601/2); pier francesco tosi's, opinioni de' cantori antichi e moderni (1723); giovanni battista mancini's pensieri, e riflessioni pratiche sopra il canto figurato (1774); manuel garcÃ­a's mÃ©moire sur la voix humaine (1841), and traitÃ© complet de lâart du chant (1840â47); nor was it used by the english authors charles burney (1726â1814) and henry fothergill chorley (1808â1872), both of whom wrote at length about italian singing of a period when ornamentation was essential. == modern usage == the term "coloratura" is most commonly applied to the elaborate and florid figur
Italian_opera_terminology Ornamentation