A rare Neapolitan Revival: Vinci's Oratorio per la Madonna del Rosario in Hamburg On November 21, 2024, Hamburg’s Laeiszhalle hosted the opening concert of the five-day Viva Napoli festival, featuring the modern premiere of Leonardo Vinci's Oratorio per la Madonna del Rosario after three hundred years’ obscurity. Composed for the annual Rosary Sunday celebrations established by Pope Gregory XIII to commemorate the Holy League's 1571 victory over the Ottomans at Lepanto, Vinci’s Oratorio per la Madonna del Rosario stands as a rare surviving example of the composer’s sacred music. Its narrative, reflecting the Eurocentric worldview of its time, portrays a moral dichotomy where Christianity triumphs over opposing forces. The story follows Alba, a Christian woman captured during a Moorish raid led by Selim, who becomes infatuated with her. Rejected and embittered, Selim threatens her life, but with divine intervention from the Virgin Mary and an angel, Alba is miraculously r...