Famous for his operas and church music, Leonardo Leo was a leading Italian composer of the early 18th century. Born (1694) and based in Naples, he composed around 60 operas, a third of them comic—for which he had a particular talent. L’Alidoro (1740) cleverly blends comic and serious characters, develops the main ensembles, and elevates the drama to the level of serious opera. He was also highly regarded as a composer of oratorios, as in the popular La morte di Abele (1738). The most ambitious of his few instrumental works is a set of six fashionable cello concertos written in 1737-38. Leo was also an important teacher, presiding over three of Naples’ famous conservatories before his death in 1744. Although his comic operas championed the elegant melodies of the emerging Classical style, his love of more complex textures reflected his academic interests. His famous double-choir Miserere (1739) consciously evokes the 16th century, complete with Gregorian chant; Wagner was impressed when he heard it in Naples in 1880.