The Resume

(April 21, 1911-March 4, 1960)
New York Metropolitan Opera baritone (1939-1960)
Specialized in Verdi's operas
Died of a cerebral hemorrhage onstage at the old Met during a performance of Verdi's La Forza Del Destino

Why he might be annoying:

He was an arrogant bully.
He was very jealous of other performers.
He intimidated stage designers, managers and conductors in order to force his way onto others.
He lay dead on stage for some time until an audience member screamed, 'For God's sake! Ring down the curtain!'
The night of his death, New York City suffered its worst blizzard in eleven years.
He was Jewish, but became a devout Roman Catholic when he married Agatha Leifflen.
A colleague once noted, 'He caused pain, but he had a great voice.'

Why he might not be annoying:

He became known as 'America's Baritone.'
He came from very humble beginnings.
His first professional job was in the Radio City Music Hall chorus.
His raw talent carried him, as he wasn't professionally trained musically until later in his career.
Actor Tony Randall, an avid opera fan, once gushed that Warren's powerful voice 'filled the house like black smoke.'
As a Jew, he encountered much anti-Semitism early in his career.
After his Met tryout, director Wilfred Pelletier sent him home without saying a word. Warren thought he had blown the tryout, but Pelletier was actually so overwhelmed that he could say nothing.
He had just sang 'O fatal pages of my destiny,' an aria praising death, when he collapsed and died (quality timing).
His first line in what turned out to be his last scene was 'To die is a tremendous thing.'
The opera he performed that night was rumored to be cursed (much like Macbeth), and his death did nothing to disprove that.
The old Metropolitan Opera House was torn down not long after his death onstage.

Credit: Art Gremashlo

Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

• Belters
• I am a Jew who Converted to Christianity
• I Converted to Catholicism
• I Died in 1960 (Ranked: 48)
• I Died Under Mysterious Circumstances
• I Died While Performing
• Opera Singers and Composers
• Profiles 15251-15500 (Ranked: 15451)
• Wizard Beards

Year In Review:

For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 3 Votes: 0% Annoying
In 2023, Out of 65 Votes: 55.38% Annoying
In 2022, Out of 16 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2021, Out of 7 Votes: 42.86% Annoying
In 2020, Out of 98 Votes: 47.96% Annoying
In 2019, Out of 105 Votes: 57.14% Annoying
In 2018, Out of 16 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2017, Out of 11 Votes: 63.64% Annoying
In 2016, Out of 3 Votes: 100% Annoying
In 2015, Out of 112 Votes: 56.25% Annoying
In 2014, Out of 45 Votes: 64.44% Annoying
In 2013, Out of 26 Votes: 61.54% Annoying
In 2012, Out of 352 Votes: 72.44% Annoying
In 2011, Out of 21 Votes: 71.43% Annoying
In 2010, Out of 81 Votes: 44.44% Annoying
In 2009, Out of 114 Votes: 42.11% Annoying
In 2008, Out of 93 Votes: 36.56% Annoying
In 2007, Out of 1076 Votes: 69.05% Annoying
In 2006, Out of 154 Votes: 64.94% Annoying
In 2005, Out of 271 Votes: 68.63% Annoying