Leonardo Vinci

1690 (Strongoli, Kingdom of Naples) – 1730 (Naples)

He is not to be confused with Leonardo da Vinci, no relative. He studied composition under Greco and also under Durante, and after Greco’s death briefly took over his post as maestro di capello. During this time Pergolesi, whom he strongly influenced, was his student. He engaged in a significant collaboration – six operas – with his firm friend Metastasio. Farinelli, a good friend of Metastasio, regularly sung for him. Porpora and he had apparently quarreled since they were students, to the extent that they had rival gangs of fans, with Vinci seemingly not shy of sabotaging some of Porpora’s public productions.