Metastasio

It was presumably by mere chance that in that same rickety
Michaelerhaus there lived at this date not only the future
composer of "The Creation," but the Scribe of the eighteenth
century, the poet and opera librettist, Metastasio. Born in 1698,
the son of humble parents, this distinguished writer had, like
Haydn, suffered from "the eternal want of pence." A precocious
boy, he had improvised verses and recited them on the street, and
fame came to him only after long and weary years of waiting. In
1729 he was appointed Court poet to the theatre at Vienna, for
which he wrote several of his best pieces, and when he made
Haydn's acquaintance his reputation was high throughout the whole
of Europe. Naturally, he did not live so near the clouds as
Haydn--his rooms were on the third story--but he heard somehow of
the friendless, penniless youth in the attic, and immediately
resolved to do what he could to further his interests. This, as
events proved, was by no means inconsiderable.

A Noble Pupil

Metastasio had been entrusted with the education of Marianne von
Martinez, the daughter of a Spanish gentleman who was Master of
the Ceremonies to the Apostolic Nuncio. The young lady required a
musicmaster, and the poet engaged Haydn to teach her the
harpsichord, in return for which service he was to receive free
board. Fraulein Martinez became something of a musical celebrity.
When she was only seventeen she had a mass performed at St
Michael's Church, Vienna. She was a favourite of the Empress