Vocal Virtuosity —— The Origins of the Coloratura Soprano in Nineteenth-Century Opera

----- 声乐：十九世纪歌剧中女高音的起源

ISBN: 9780197542644 出版年：2021 页码：325 Parr, Sean Oxford University Press

Nothing strikes the ear quite like a soprano singing in the sonic stratosphere. Whether thrilling, chilling, or repellent to the listener, the reaction to cascades of coloratura with climaxing high notes is strong. Coloratura-agile, rapid-fire singing-was originally essential for all singers, but its function changed greatly when it became the specialty of particular sopranos over the course of the nineteenth century. The central argument of Vocal Virtuosity challenges the historical commonplace that coloratura became an anachronism in nineteenth-century opera. Instead, the book demonstrates that melismas at mid-century were made modern.