Composer Leonardo Vinci (no known relation to that other guy) was a star of Italian opera in the 1720s, trained in Naples but winning commissions all up and down the peninsula before meeting his untimely demise in 1730 from poison administered, it is said, by a jealous husband. Many of the top castrati of the day had connections with Naples as well, and what strikes one about the arias here is how they were designed for these singers. A Handel aria sung by an artist of developing powers still holds considerable interest, where these pieces would not. Put one of today's hot countertenors on them, however, and they shine. Franco Fagioli, backed with energy by the historical performance group Il Pomo d'Oro, is an ideal choice for this material. He doesn't do much beyond delivering sheer power, but that is absolutely enough. Fagioli offers selections from seven Vinci operas, all of them from the middle and late 1720s, and all opere serie, with athletic arias common in the genre. Additional variety might have been added with selections from Vinci's Neapolitan dialect comedies from earlier in the decade, and the inclusion of a whole scene or two might have been worthwhile even if it necessitated bringing in another singer, but with a voice like this, one can simply listen and luxuriate.