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Coloratura
Type of elaborate melody / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the melody. For the Coldplay song, see Coloratura (song).
Coloratura is an elaborate melody with runs, trills, wide leaps, or similar virtuoso-like material,[1][2] or a passage of such music. Operatic roles in which such music plays a prominent part, and singers of these roles, are also called coloratura.[3] Its instrumental equivalent is ornamentation.
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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]