The term coloratura refers to the elaborate ornamentation of a melody, which is a typical component of the music written for this voice.
A very agile light voice with a high upper extension, capable of fast vocal coloratura.
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.
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 the use of interpolation in some of the operatic roles already cited above or in concert works.
Thomas Adès composed a high A (A6) for the character of Leticia Meynar in The Exterminating Angel.