Re: Coloratura: Why only sopranos & mezzo-sopranos?

In article <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, Slrdsyj
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

>   Why is it that only sopranos and mezzo-sopranos are ever coloratura singers,
> and not contraltos, countertenors, tenors, baritones, or basses?   

I'm not sure why some others felt the need to call this inquiry
ignorant.  Yes, of course, there is coloratura for all the different
voice types, but there's no doubt that it's far more common for the
higher voices than the lower ones -- both in terms of how much is
written and, even more, how often one is likely to hear it.  For every
bass coloratura aria you can name, I can name four soprano coloratura
arias. To pretend coloratura is equally common for all voices is just
silly.

mdl