Vinci. Gismondo

Unlike today, neither George Frideric Handel nor Antonio Vivaldi was the most famous and most performed opera composer in the first third of the 18th century, but rather Leonardo Vinci (ca. 1696-1730). Educated in Naples, he was successful there from 1719, initially with several operas buffe before he turned to the more prestigious opera seria in 1722 with immediate success. As one of the most important representatives of the Neapolitan School, he left his mark on the Italian and soon also the European opera scene. Even Handel in faraway London could not avoid his music: in order to satisfy the public's taste, he put several pasticcios with their arias on the repertoire of his failing opera company. In 1730 Vinci died suddenly after colicky pains, and it was soon rumored that he had been the victim of a poison attack.

Franco Fagioli lavishes his "extraordinary agility and richly upholstered voice" (Gramophone) on Leonardo Vinci, the Neapolitan composer who influenced Handel and many later masters of Italian opera. Fagioli is joined again by Il Pomo d'Oro led by Zefira Valova, the superb period-instrument ensemble on his previous album. Veni, Vidi, Vinci features seven world premiere recordings from the Neapolitan composer, unearthed for this great recording.

Following up his “fantastic” (Süddeutsche Zeitung) Handel recital, Franco Fagioli lavishes his “extraordinary agility and richly upholstered voice” (Gramophone) on Leonardo Vinci, the Neapolitan composer who influenced Handel and many later masters of Italian opera. He is again partnered by Il Pomo d’Oro led by Zefira Valova, the superb period- instrument ensemble who offered “stunning playing – stylish and superbly tuned” (ClassicsToday) on Fagioli’s previous album.

The name of Leonardo Vinci, not to be confused with Leonardo da Vinci, is little known today, but he succeeded in the intensely competitive opera scene of the 1720s in Naples, at that time one of the greatest cities in the world. His comic operas were among the first to break up the Baroque style and push it toward the simplicity and lightness to come, but here the focus is on opera seria, which he wrote in abundance and for which he commanded libretti from Pietro Metastasio and other top writers of the day.