1690–1730 · Baroque
Leonardo Vinci was an Italian Baroque composer from Strongoli. He lived from about 1690 to 1730 and worked in Naples, where he became a leading figure of the Neapolitan school of opera. His fame came from his operas, which feature a simple, graceful melody. The site offers four arias from his operas.
Leonardo Vinci was born around 1690 in Strongoli. He studied music in Naples, at the Conservatorio dei Poveri di Gesù Cristo. His teacher there was the composer Gaetano Greco.
Vinci is counted among the Neapolitan school of opera. He is known chiefly for his operas, and the first of them were staged in Naples.
In 1719 Vinci's opera Lo Cecato fauzo was staged in Naples. It was the first opera written in the Neapolitan dialect. Vinci first became known through such comic operas in the Neapolitan language.
The comedy Li zite ’n galera had its premiere in Naples in 1722. Its title is traditionally rendered as 'girls on a galley', though 'newlyweds in a boat' would be closer to the original. It is the best known of the composer's early operas, and it is generally regarded as the finest of his comic works.
Vinci also wrote serious operas, and he was among the first to set texts by Pietro Metastasio. Among his operas are Didone abbandonata (Rome, 1726), Catone in Utica (Rome, 1728) and Semiramide riconosciuta (Rome, 1729).
The aria Confusa, smarrita from Catone in Utica is still popular today. In 1728 Vinci was admitted to the Congregation of the Rosary at Formiello, a lay religious fraternity that also arranged burials.
The opera Artaserse was first shown on 4 February 1730 at the Teatro delle Dame in Rome. The building has not survived to the present day. The work brought the composer his greatest success.
After the Rome premiere, Artaserse remained on the programmes of different theatres across the continent for over a decade. The aria Vo solcando, at the end of the first act, is especially popular. Vinci could not build on this success, because he died suddenly.
Leonardo Vinci died in Naples on 27 May 1730, the same year in which Artaserse had its premiere. The circumstances of his death have not been established.
Vinci is one of the central figures of the Neapolitan opera school. He left a strong mark on later composers, among them Johann Adolph Hasse and Giovanni Battista Pergolesi. He moved away from the dominant operatic style of Alessandro Scarlatti and introduced new traits: a simple, graceful melody, thematic contrast and a smaller role for polyphony. These features are typical of the pre-Classical style, and contemporaries who wanted to renew 'old' opera took them up.
Vinci is above all an opera composer. His comic operas are lively and high-spirited, while his serious ones stand out for a forceful, direct drama that the music historian Charles Burney praised. A good example of his style is the aria Vo solcando from Artaserse.
Beyond opera, Vinci left a few cantatas and sonatas, a serenata and two oratorios: Oratorio di Maria dolorata (about 1723) and Oratorio per la Santissima Vergine del Rosario (about 1730). His flute sonata in D major, with basso continuo, is still performed. He also wrote two recorder sonatas and a recorder concerto in A minor.
The site has four arias from his operas. Al fiero mio sospetto, from Caduta dei Decemviri, is rated 'Medium'. Voi che le mie vicende and Di rabbia, di sdegno, both from Semiramide, and Ride il ciel per me sereno, from Siface, are rated 'Medium+'. Al fiero mio sospetto is a convenient place to begin, with the others to follow.