Page:Rolland - A musical tour through the land of the past.djvu/158

146 of the poetical reformation which was to make him famous. The hazards of his emotional life, skillfully exploited, were of no little service in the completion of his poetico-musical education. It was a singer who had the merit of discovering him. Signer E. Celani has told the story in an article entitled: Il primo amore di P. Metastasio. Metastasio's first love was the daughter of the composer, Francesco Gasparini, the pupil of Corelli and Pasquini, the man who had mastered better than any other the science of il bel canto and who formed the most famous singers; the teacher of La Faustina and Benedetto Marcello. They met in Rome in 1718–19. Gasparini wished to marry Metastasio to his daughter, Rosalia, whom Metastasio has sung under the name of Nice; and Signor Celani has discovered the draft of the marriage contract, which was drawn up in April 1719. But an unforeseen obstacle supervened. Metastasio left for Naples in May, and Rosalia married another.

At Naples, Metastasio met the woman whose influence upon his artistic career was to be decisive: La Romanina (Marianna Benti) a famous singer, the wife of a certain Bulgarelli. Metastasio was at that time clerk to an advocate. His employer hated poetry, which did not prevent Metastasio from writing poems, cantatas, and serenades which appeared under another name. In 1721 he wrote, for the birthday of a member of the Imperial family, a cantata: Gli orte Esperiei, which was set to music by Porpora: La Romanina, who was passing through Naples, sang the part of Venus in this cantata. The performance was extremely successful; La Romanina insisted on making the young poet's