Leonardo Vinci (1690 – 27 May 1730) was an Italian

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

known chiefly for his 40 or so

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

s; comparatively little of his work in other genres survives. A central proponent of the

Neapolitan School In music history, the Neapolitan School is a group, associated with opera, of 17th and 18th-century composers who studied or worked in Naples, Italy,Don Michael Randel (2003). ''The Harvard Dictionary of Music'', p. 549. . the best known of whom ...

of opera, his influence on subsequent opera composers such as

Johann Adolph Hasse Johann Adolph Hasse (baptised 25 March 1699 – 16 December 1783) was an 18th-century German composer, singer and teacher of music. Immensely popular in his time, Hasse was best known for his prolific operatic output, though he also composed a co ...

and Giovanni Battista Pergolesi was considerable.

Life and career

He was born at Strongoli and educated at

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

under

Gaetano Greco Gaetano Greco (c. 1657c. 1728) was an Italian Baroque composer. He was the younger brother of Rocco Greco ( c.1650 - before 1718). Both brothers were trained at, and later taught at the Poveri di Gesu` Cristo conservatory in Naples. Gaetano Greco's ...

in the Conservatorio dei Poveri di Gesù Cristo. He first became known for his ''

opere buffe ''Opera buffa'' (; "comic opera", plural: ''opere buffe'') is a genre of opera. It was first used as an informal description of Italian comic operas variously classified by their authors as ''commedia in musica'', ''commedia per musica'', ''dramm ...

'' (comic operas) in

Neapolitan dialect , altname = , states = Italy , region = Abruzzo, Apulia, Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Lazio, Marche, Molise , ethnicity = ''Mezzogiorno'' Ethnic Italians , speakers = 5.7 million , date ...

in 1719; he also composed many ''

opere serie ''Opera seria'' (; plural: ''opere serie''; usually called ''dramma per musica'' or ''melodramma serio'') is an Italian musical term which refers to the noble and "serious" style of Italian opera that predominated in Europe from the 1710s to ab ...

'' (dramatic operas). He was received into the Congregation of the Rosary, a lay religious and burial fraternity, at Formiello in 1728. He died in May 1730. Vinci is rumoured to have been

poison Poison is a chemical substance that has a detrimental effect to life. The term is used in a wide range of scientific fields and industries, where it is often specifically defined. It may also be applied colloquially or figuratively, with a broa ...

ed by a jealous husband in the wake of an ill-advised affair, a story which is given by several reliable authorities without evident contradictions.

Music

Vinci's ''opere buffe,'' of which '' Li zite 'ngalera'' (1722) is generally regarded as the best, are full of life and spirit; his ''opere serie,'' of which ''Didone Abbandonata'' (Rome, 1726) and ''

Artaserse ' is the name of a number of Italian operas, all based on a text by Metastasio. ' is the Italian form of the name of the king Artaxerxes I of Persia. There are over 90 known settings of Metastasio's text. The libretto was originally written for, ...

'' (Rome, 1730) are the most notable, have an incisive vigour and directness of dramatic expression praised by music historian

Charles Burney Charles Burney (7 April 1726 – 12 April 1814) was an English music historian, composer and musician. He was the father of the writers Frances Burney and Sarah Burney, of the explorer James Burney, and of Charles Burney, a classicist a ...

. According to Burney, The well-known aria "Vo solcando," from ''

'', is a good example of his style.

Works

Operas

*''Le doje lettere'' (1719) *''Lo cecato fauzo'' (1719) *''Lo scagno'' (1720) *''Lo scassone'' (1720) *''Lo Barone di Trocchia'' (1721) *''Don Ciccio'' (1721) *'' Li zite 'ngalera'' (1722) *''La festa di Bacco'' (1722) *''Publio Cornelio Scipione'' (1722) *''Lo castiello sacchiato'' (1722) *''Lo labberinto'' (1723) *''Semiramide'' (1723) *''Silla dittatore'' (1723) *''Farnace'' (1724) *''La mogliera fedele'' (1724) *''Turno Aricino'' (1724) *'' Ifigenia in Tauride'' (1725) *''La Rosmira fedele'' (1725) also known as ''Partenope'' (1725) *''Il trionfo di Camilla'' (1725) *''Elpidia'' (1725) *''L'Astianatte'' (1725) *''Didone abbandonata'' (1726) *'' Siroe, Re di Persia'' (1726) *''L'asteria'' (1726) *''Ernelinda'' (1726) *''Gismondo, Re di Polonia'' (1727) *''La caduta dei Decemviri'' (1727) * ''Il Medo'' (1728) *''

Catone in Utica ''Catone in Utica'' (; ) is an opera libretto by Metastasio, that was originally written for Leonardo Vinci's 1727 opera. Following Vinci's success, Metastasio's text was used by numerous composers of the baroque and classical eras for thei ...

'' (1728) *''Flavio Anicio Olibrio'' (1728) *''

Alessandro nell'Indie ''Alessandro nelle Indie'' (''Alexander in India'') is an opera seria in two acts by Giovanni Pacini to a libretto by Andrea Leone Tottola and Giovanni Schmidt, based on '' Alessandro nell'Indie'' by Pietro Metastasio. It was premiered at the Te ...

'' (1729) *''Farnace'' (1729) *''La Contesa dei Numi'' (1729) *''Massimiano'' (1729) *''

'' (1730)

Other works

In addition to operas, Vinci wrote a few cantatas, sonatas, a

serenata In music, a serenade (; also sometimes called a serenata, from the Italian) is a musical composition or performance delivered in honor of someone or something. Serenades are typically calm, light pieces of music. The term comes from the Italia ...

, and two

oratorio An oratorio () is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists. Like most operas, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias. However, opera is mus ...

s (''Oratorio di Maria dolorata'' ca. 1723 and ''Oratorio per la Santissima Vergine del Rosario'' ca. 1730). His sonata in D major for flute and basso continuo is still played today. He composed two sonatas for the recorder in addition to a recorder concerto in A minor.

Selected recordings

* ''Fileno'' – Soprano Cantatas ''Mesta Oh Dio, tra queste selve. Mi costa tante lacrime. Amor di Citerea. Parto, ma con qual core.'' Emanuela Galli & Francesca Cassinari, Stile Galante, Stefano Aresi. With work wrongly attributed to Vinci by

Alessandro Scarlatti Pietro Alessandro Gaspare Scarlatti (2 May 1660 – 22 October 1725) was an Italian Baroque composer, known especially for his operas and chamber cantatas. He is considered the most important representative of the Neapolitan school of opera. ...

''Fille, tu parti? Oh Dio!'' Pan Classics 2011. * In 2015 Decca released a Parnassus Arts Productions recording of his 3-act ''opera seria,'' ''Catone in Utica'' (Rome, 1728).

Notes

References

Sources

* * *

External links

* *
Arte TV broadcast of the 2022 Bayreuth production of ''Alessandro nel Indie''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vinci, Leonardo 1690 births 1730 deaths 18th-century Italian male musicians Neapolitan school composers 18th-century Italian composers Italian Baroque composers Italian male classical composers Italian opera composers Male opera composers People from the Province of Crotone