The Resume

(May 4, 1930-January 18, 2017)
Born in The Bronx, New York
Birth name was Roberta Peterman
Coloratura soprano
Performed with the Metropolitan Opera (1950-85)
Notable roles included the Queen of the Night in ‘The Magic Flute,’ Susanna in ‘The Marriage of Figaro,’ Despina in ‘Cosi Fan Tutte,’ Rosina in ‘The Barber of Seville,’ Sophie in ‘Der Rosenkavalier,’ Adele in ‘Die Fledermaus,’ Lucia in ‘Lucia di Lammermoor’ and Gilda in ‘Rigoletto’
Received the National Medal of the Arts (1998)

Why she might be annoying:

She left school at age thirteen to study voice full time.
Her training included balancing a bag of gravel on her head to improve her posture and having Joseph Pilates (creator of the physical education regime bearing his name) stand on her stomach to strengthen her diaphragm.
She was married briefly to baritone Robert Merrill (1952), later conceding she had been in love with the voice rather than the man.
She appeared in an American Express ‘Do You Know Me?’ commercial.

Why she might not be annoying:

She made her Metropolitan Opera debut (which was also her debut as a professional singer) earlier than planned when she was asked, on five hours’ notice, to replace ailing Nadine Conner as Zerlina in ‘Don Giovanni’ (November 17, 1950).
She recalled, ‘That could be like a Cinderella story except that I was prepared.’
She appeared 65 times on The Ed Sullivan Show, more than any other opera singer.
Her second marriage, to Bertram Fields, lasted 55 years until his death.

Credit: C. Fishel

Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

• American Express Advertisers
• Brothers and Sisters, I Have None
• C. Fishel's Profiles [Series 64]
• Ed Sullivan Show Guests
• I am a Bronxite
• I Covered 'You'll Never Walk Alone'
• I Did Not Graduate High School [N-S]
• I Died in 2017 (Ranked: 86)
• I Have Parkinson Disease
• I Married and Divorced in the Same Calender Year
• I Married for Less than Two Years
• I Portrayed Juliet
• Little People [5'3 and Shorter] - Female L-Z
• Look at Me, I Got a Microphone
• Opera Singers and Composers
• Our Marriage Didn't Make It To Our First Anniversary
• Person to Person - Guests [L-Z]
• Profiles 38501-38750 (Ranked: 38570)
• We Celebrated Our Golden Anniversary

Year In Review:

For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
In 2023, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
In 2022, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2021, Out of 19 Votes: 78.95% Annoying
In 2020, Out of 16 Votes: 56.25% Annoying
In 2019, Out of 16 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2018, Out of 15 Votes: 46.67% Annoying
In 2017, Out of 41 Votes: 56.10% Annoying