Leonardo Vinci - Artaserse (Haymarket Opera Company)

Information

Composer: Leonardo Vinci

• Artaserse

Kangmin Justin Kim

Key'mon Murrah

Eric Ferring

Emily Fons

Elijah McCormack

Ryan Belongie

Haymarket Opera Company

Craig Trompeter, conductor

Date: 2026

Label: Cedille Records

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Haymarket Opera Company, recognized by Musical America as “among the most impressive period-performance ensembles today,” presents Leonardo Vinci’s rare 1730 opera Artaserse. A key figure of the Neapolitan School whose work influenced Hasse and Pergolesi, Vinci’s three-act opera seria follows the Persian prince Artaserse as he seeks justice for his father’s murder amid betrayal and mistaken identities. Celebrated in its time and frequently revived into the 1750s, the opera features a libretto by Pietro Metastasio and includes 29 arias, a duet, four orchestrally accompanied recitatives, and a final chorus, showcasing Vinci’s dramatic skill and virtuosic vocal writing.

Leonardo Vinci (1690–1730) was an Italian composer and a foundational figure of the Neapolitan opera style, influencing successors such as Nicola Porpora, Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, and Johann Adolph Hasse. His first known work, the Neapolitan comic opera Lo cecato fauzo (1719), led to a prolific career that included approximately 40 operas, primarily for Naples and some for Rome. Vinci also held prestigious positions, serving as chapelmaster to the prince of Sansevero and later as conductor of the royal chapel in Naples from 1725 until his death. His oeuvre encompasses serious operas, oratorios, masses, and motets, with arias from his works published posthumously in London in 1758.

Haymarket Opera Company, founded in 2010, enriches Chicago and the Midwest’s cultural landscape through historically informed performances of 17th- and 18th-century opera and oratorio, often presenting U.S. and Chicago premieres. Utilizing period instruments and staging, the company has mounted over 30 productions, highlighting lesser-known repertoire alongside celebrated works, with performances featuring international stars and top regional talent. Acclaimed by publications including The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, and Opera News, Haymarket gained national attention for its filmed Handel season during the pandemic, reaching over 800,000 households. Its 2022 recording of Joseph Bologne’s L’Amant anonyme, released on Cedille Records, marks a landmark project supported by the Ruth Bader Ginsburg Fund. Recognized repeatedly for excellence, the company is celebrated as a leading period-performance ensemble.