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23-522: Emma Nevada (née Wixom ) (7 February 1859 – 20 June 1940) was an American operatic coloratura soprano particularly known for her performances in operas by Bellini and Donizetti and the French composers Ambroise Thomas , Charles Gounod , and Léo Delibes . Considered one of the finest coloratura sopranos of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, her most famous roles were Amina in La sonnambula , and

46-452: A soprano acuto sfogato . Although both lyric and dramatic coloraturas can be acuto sfogato sopranos, the primary attribute of the acuto sfogato soprano is an upper extension above F 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

69-454: A "high E" (E 6 ). Bel canto roles were typically written for this voice, and a wide variety of other composers have also written coloratura parts. Baroque music , early music and baroque opera also have many roles for this voice. Source: A coloratura soprano with great flexibility in high-lying velocity passages, yet with great sustaining power comparable to that of a full spinto or dramatic soprano . Dramatic coloraturas have

92-446: A range of approximately "low A" (A 3 ) to "high F" (F 6 ). Various dramatic coloratura roles have different vocal demands for the singer – for instance, the voice that can sing Abigail ( Nabucco , Verdi) is unlikely to also sing Lucia ( Lucia di Lammermoor , Donizetti), but a factor in common is that the voice must be able to convey dramatic intensity as well as flexibility. Roles written specifically for this kind of voice include

115-434: Is an elaborate melody with runs , trills , wide leaps , or similar virtuoso -like material, 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. Its instrumental equivalent is ornamentation . Coloratura is particularly found in vocal music and especially in operatic singing of the 18th and 19th centuries. The term coloratura

138-571: 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. Notes Cited sources Other sources Coloratura Coloratura ( UK : / ˌ k ɒ l ər ə ˈ tj ʊər ə / KOL -ər-ə- TURE -ə , US : / ˌ k ʌ l -/ KUL - , Italian: [koloraˈtuːra] ; lit.   ' coloring ' , from Latin colorare 'to color')

161-721: The Opéra-Comique in Paris in 1883 when she sang Zora in Félicien-César David 's La perle du Brésil . In 1884 she toured the United States with Mapleson 's opera company, after which she returned to Europe where she continued to sing in leading opera houses and concert halls. The Mapleson tour was the only time she sang on the opera stages of her native country, although she did return to the United States for concert tours in 1885, 1899, and 1901. Pablo Casals

184-516: The 15th, 16th and 17th centuries, and in particular, baroque music extending up to about 1750, includes a substantial body of music for which coloratura technique is required by vocalists and instrumentalists alike. In the modern musicological sense the term is therefore used to refer to florid music from all periods of music history, both vocal and instrumental. For example, in Germany the term coloratura ( German : Koloratur ) has been applied to

207-410: The 18th and 19th centuries. A very agile light voice with a high upper extension, capable of fast vocal coloratura. Lyric coloraturas have a range of approximately middle C ( C 4 ) to "high F" (F 6 ). Such a soprano is sometimes referred to as a soprano leggero if her vocal timbre has a slightly warmer quality. The soprano leggero also typically does not go as high as other coloraturas, peaking at

230-480: The English authors Charles Burney (1726–1814) and Henry Fothergill Chorley (1808–1872), both of whom wrote at length about Italian singing of a period when ornamentation was essential. The term coloratura is most commonly applied to the elaborate and florid figuration or ornamentation in classical (late 18th century) and romantic (19th century, specifically bel canto ) vocal music. However, early music of

253-573: The Queen of the Night in Mozart's The Magic Flute , has a high range and requires the singer to execute with great facility elaborate ornamentation and embellishment, including running passages, staccati , and trills . A coloratura soprano has the vocal ability to produce notes above high C ( C 6 ) and possesses a tessitura ranging from A 4 to A 5 or higher (unlike lower sopranos whose tessitura

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276-727: The deaf and spoke Paiute , Washoe and Shoshone , she studied Spanish, Italian, French and German at Mills College in California as well as music. She then studied singing for three years in Vienna with Mathilde Marchesi before making her stage debut at Her Majesty's Theatre in London as Amina in La sonnambula on 17 May 1880. She was an adept fencer and also practiced with Indian clubs to maintain her physical stamina for singing opera. Debuts followed at La Scala in Milan in 1881 and

299-470: 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

322-414: The more dramatic Mozart and bel canto female roles and early Verdi . This is a rare vocal fach , as thick vocal cords are needed to produce the large, dramatic notes, which usually lessens the flexibility and acrobatic abilities of the voice. Source: In rare instances, some coloratura sopranos are able to sing in altissimo above high F (F 6 ). This type of singer is sometimes referred to as

345-405: The stereotypical and formulaic ornamentation used in 16th‑century keyboard music written by a group of German organ composers referred to as the " colorists " ( German : Koloristen ). Despite its derivation from Latin colorare ("to color"), the term does not apply to the practice of "coloring" the voice, i.e. altering the quality or timbre of the voice for expressive purposes (for example,

368-453: The technique of voix sombrée used by Gilbert Duprez in the 1830s). The term is not restricted to describing any one range of voice. All female and male voice types may achieve mastery of coloratura technique. There are coloratura parts for all voice types in different musical genres . Nevertheless, the term coloratura , when used without further qualification, normally means a coloratura soprano . This role, most famously typified by

391-557: The title roles in Lakmé , Mignon , Mireille , and Lucia di Lammermoor . Emma Nevada was born in Alpha, California , to Maria O'Boy Wixom and Dr. William Wallace Wixom, who was the physician for the gold mine camp there. She spent her early childhood in nearby Nevada City (from which she took her stage name) before the family moved to Austin, Nevada , where a new silver mine had opened. A gifted linguist who learned sign language for

414-484: The use of interpolation in some of the operatic roles already cited above or in concert works. Examples of works that include G 6 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 (A 6 ) for the character of Leticia Meynar in The Exterminating Angel . The soprano acuto sfogato

437-543: Was cast as Emma Nevada in the 1960 episode, "Emma Is Coming", on the syndicated anthology series , Death Valley Days , hosted by Stanley Andrews . The episode is set in Austin , Nevada, where she was reared. Rick Jason was cast as Duke Clayton, a local tough-guy who developed a fond interest in Emma, and Alan Reed played Emma's manager, James Henry Mapleson . Coloratura soprano The term coloratura refers to

460-421: Was first defined in several early non-Italian music dictionaries: Michael Praetorius 's Syntagma musicum (1618); Sébastien 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". Christoph Bernhard (1628–1692) defined coloratura in two ways: The term

483-688: Was in Lakmé in Berlin in 1910, after which she retired from the stage and taught singing in England. Emma Nevada died near Liverpool at the age of 81. A medallion with her portrait, along with those of Giuditta Pasta and Maria Malibran , adorns Bellini 's monument in Naples . Her flute-like voice was small but she used it expertly—Sir Thomas Beecham immediately christened her "a natural coloratura equal to any of her contemporaries." The actress Erin O'Brien

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506-403: 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 García 's Mémoire sur la voix humaine (1841), and Traité complet de l’art du chant (1840–47); nor was it used by

529-475: Was one of the trio of musicians accompanying her in the 1901 concerts. In October 1885, Nevada married Raymond Palmer, an English physician, who was to become her manager. The wedding took place in Paris with Ambroise Thomas giving the bride away. The couple settled in Paris and had one daughter, Mignon, who also became an opera singer under the stage name of Mignon Nevada . Mignon's godparents were Ambroise Thomas and Mathilde Marchesi. Nevada's last performance

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