# Differences in French and Italian Coloratura



## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

In honor of Sutherland's 90th birthday I have been listening to lots of her music. She is a master of both French and Italian coloratura. After listening to lots of both I have come away with these impressions. They are both fiendishly difficult.... but in different ways. The coloratura in Italian opera is, of course, difficult, but to my ears it is more straight forward than the French. The hardest part of the Italian arias is that more often than not they end on Eb or even E. The high notes tend to be more climactic and held at least a beat longer than the French high notes. French arias tend to climax more on D and they are gotten off of quickly. The only exception that stands out to me are the 3 D's in Esclamonde's big aria, which no one but Sutherland can really sing properly. In that opera, Esclamonde is not overburdened with coloratura, but still has to sing them and be heard over a Wagnerian size orchestra and handle those 3 big D's in one aria. My final difference is about French coloratura. I find that, particularly in Meyerbeer, that his coloratura sounds a lot trickier than you hear in the Italian arias. I notice this on some of the examples in the French Opera Gala, later renamed. What do you think? Some of you are much more musically savvy than me.


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