Does this explain Gura?
The coloratura fach is one of the most misunderstood and overused. The most famous trait of a coloratura, is the extraordinary agility that these voices possess. Coloraturas can complete extremely complex runs, trill and leaps. They can jump around all parts of the voice with ease. This is usually all people look for. One must remember that great agility can be learnt. Take Natalie Weiss’s Youtube series ‘Breaking Down The Riffs’. Natalie demonstrates that with practice and simplification even the most complex runs can be learnt. This means that we must look for other characteristics before we classify someone as a coloratura.
A true coloratura will also have a few other distinct traits. The voice will sit very high, possessing the highest tessitura of all the fachs. A (trained) coloratura will have the ability to reach well into the 6th octave. The timbre of a coloratura will be very sweet and youthful – with a small and very light voice. It is this ‘weightlessness’ that allows the voice to be very agile and carried high up. Many mistake lyric voices for coloraturas. For example, Jessie J is often thought of as a coloratura. Although she has amazing agility, her tessitura is not high enough, and her timbre is nowhere near sweet, bright or youthful enough. Some describe coloraturas as having a timbre that is lacking in richness, due to their very light and bright voice. A true coloratura is far more rare that what most believe.
A coloratura will go through extensive training to achieve their renowned agility. They will have a naturally light and agile voice that is harnessed and developed. A coloratura would also focus their time on the upper range of their head voice and agility, rather than on low notes and intense power. Due to all the training required, some believe this is why we cannot find a coloratura in pop music. They believe it is a result of classical training that a pop singer will simply not receive.
Additionally, coloratura is somewhat of a way of singing (with lots of melisma, leaps, trills, etc) as opposed to just a type of voice. These very specific parts, like coloratura, are not best suited to pop music as these fachs often have requirements other than just the voice (for example a certain physical look is required). For arguments sake, lets say a singer has the physical vocal chords of a coloratura but doesn’t use any runs, riffs, etc — are they still considered a coloratura? This is why it becomes a grey area and is why many believe it is not appropriate for anything other than classical music.
