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Who was Luigia Polzelli in Joseph Haydnâs life?
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Joseph Haydn
Joseph Haydn, detail of a portrait by Thomas Hardy, 1791; in the collection of the Royal College of Music, London.
Luigia Polzelli was a young Italian mezzo-soprano who served at the EsterhĂĄzy court alongside Joseph Haydn. During a period when Haydnâs marriage to Maria Anna Keller was marked by unhappiness and a lack of mutual understanding, he engaged in a long-term love affair with Polzelli.1