The American opera singer Leonard Warren (April 21, 1911 - March 4, 1960) was a famous baritone who was associated for many years with the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Soprano Renata Tebaldi said of his voice: "it was a very, very soft, velvety voice...He was truly stupendous." Sydney Opera House: one of the worlds most recognizable opera houses and landmarks Opera refers to a dramatic art form, originating in Europe, in which the emotional content or primary entertainment is conveyed to the audience as much through music, both vocal and instrumental, as it is through the... April 21 is the 111th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (112th in leap years). ... 1911 (MCMXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar). ... March 4 is the 63rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (64th in leap years). ... 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1960 calendar). ... In music, a baritone (from Greek βαρυτονος deeply, heavily sounding) is a male voice of intermediate pitch, between bass and tenor. ... The Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, seen from Lincoln Center Plaza A full house at the old Metropolitan Opera House, seen from the rear of the stage, at the Metropolitan Opera House for a concert by pianist Józef Hofmann, November 28, 1937. ... Official language(s) None, English de facto Capital Albany Largest city New York City Area  Ranked 27th  - Total 54,520 sq. ... Renata Tebaldi The Italian opera singer Renata Tebaldi (February 1, 1922 – December 19, 2004) was one of the most famous sopranos of the post-war period. ...

Born Leonard Warenoff in New York to Russian immigrant parents, Warren was first employed in his father's fur business. In 1935, he joined the chorus at Radio City Music Hall. In 1938, he entered the Metropolitan Opera Auditions of the Air. Despite the fact Warren was obviously a novice, his natural gifts were apparent, and he was immediately given a contract. The Met sent him to Italy that summer with a stipend to study. Radio City Music Hall at Xmas 2005 Radio City Music Hall is an entertainment venue located in New York Citys Rockefeller Center. ...

Returning to America, Warren made his concert debut at the Metropolitan Opera in excerpts from La Traviata and Pagliacci during a concert in New York in November 1938. His formal operatic debut took place there in January 1939, when he sang Paolo in Simon Boccanegra. A recording contract with RCA Victor soon followed. La traviata, an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave, takes as its basis the novel La dame aux Camélias by Alexandre Dumas, fils, published in 1848. ... Pagliacci (Clowns) is an opera in two acts written and composed by Ruggiero Leoncavallo. ... Simon Boccanegra is an opera with a prologue and three acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave, based on the play Simón Bocanegra by Antonio García Gutiérrez. ...

Warren later sang in San Francisco, Chicago, Mexico City, and Buenos Aires, he appeared at La Scala in Milan in 1953, and in 1958, he made a highly successful tour of the Soviet Union, but for most of his career he remained in New York and sang at the Met. La Scala by night This article is about the opera house. ...

Although he sang Tonio in Pagliacci, Escamillo in Carmen, and Scarpia in Tosca, he was particularly acclaimed as one of the finest interpreters of the great Verdi baritone roles, above all the title role of Rigoletto, which was captured in 1950 in an electrifying recording with soprano Erna Berger and tenor Jan Peerce, conducted by Renato Cellini. Pagliacci (Clowns) is an opera in two acts written and composed by Ruggiero Leoncavallo. ... Poster from the 1875 premiere of Carmen Carmen is a French opera by Georges Bizet. ... Original poster Tosca is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, based on Victorien Sardous drama, La Tosca. ... Rigoletto is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi. ...

His last complete performance at the Met was as Simon Boccanegra on March 1, 1960. Three days later, in a performance of La Forza del Destino with Tebaldi, Warren was about to launch the vigorous cabaletta to Don Carlo's aria, which begins Morir, tremenda cosa ("to die, a momentous thing"), he started coughing at the stage and gasping. His final words were "Help me, help me!" and he pitched face-forward down to the floor. A few minutes later he was pronounced dead of a massive cerebral vascular hemorrhage, and the rest of the performance was canceled. Warren was only forty-eight. Cover of first bilingual edition of the libretto of La forza del destino, St. ...

Warren was known as a person of an intractable character, who always tried to impose his will on stage designers, managers, and even conductors, in matters of production, direction, and tempi. He caused pain, a colleague once noted, but he had a great voice.

In his book The American Opera Singer (1997, ISBN 0385421745), Peter G. Davis wrote of Warren:

The rich, rounded, mellow quality of [Warren's] voice, fairly bursting with resonant overtones, may not have been to every taste, particularly those preferring a narrower baritonal focus that "speaks" more quickly on the note. But by any standards it was a deluxe, quintessentially "Metropolitan Opera sound," one that seemed to take on a special glow and lustrousness as it opened up and spread itself generously around the big auditorium. And of course the easy top was its special glory -- when relaxing with friends Warren would often tear into tenor arias like "Di quella pira" and toss off the high Cs that many tenors lacked. He could have, but never did, overindulge that applause-getting facility.

External links

• biography
• Leonard Warren, American Baritone (book review)