Nothingstrikestheearquitelikeasopranosinginginthesonicstratosphere.Whetherthrilling,chilling,orrepellenttothelistener,thereactiontocascadesofcoloraturawithclimaxinghighnotesisstrong.Coloratura-agile,rapid-firesinging-wasoriginallyessentialforallsingers,butitsfunctionchangedgreatlywhenitbecamethespecialtyofparticularsopranosoverthecourseofthenineteenthcentury.ThecentralargumentofVocalVirtuositychallengesthehistoricalcommonplacethatcoloraturabecameananachronisminnineteenth-centuryopera.Instead,thebookdemonstratesthatmelismasatmid-centuryweremademodern.Coloraturabecameanincreasinglymarkedmusicalgestureduringthecenturywithacorrespondinglymorespecificdramaturgicalfunction.Inexploringthistransformation,thebookrevealstheinstigatorsofthischangeinvocalpracticeandexaminesthehistoricaltracesofParisiansingerswhoweretheperiod’sgreatestexponentsofvertiginousvocalityasarchetypesofthemoderncoloraturasoprano.Thebookconstructsthehistoricaltrajectoryofcoloraturaasitbecamegenderedtheprovenanceofthefemalesinger,whilealsoconsideringwhatmelismascansignifyinoperaticperformance.Asawhole,itarguesthatvocalvirtuositywasasourceofpowerforwomen,generatingspaceforfemaleauthorshipandcreativity.Insodoing,thebookreclaimsaplaceinhistoryforthecoloraturasoprano.
