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.
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]