Sandra Warfield performed with the Zurich Opera, where in 1961 she sang Katerina in the world premiere of Martinů's "The Greek Passion". They returned to the United States, and the Metropolitan Opera, in the 1960s. Her performances at the Met included Ulrica in Giuseppe Verdi's "Un ballo in maschera", Berta in "The Barber of Seville" by Gioachino Rossini, Marcellina in "The Marriage of Figaro", Maddalena in "Rigoletto" by Verdi and Erda in Richard Wagner's "Siegfried", totaling 172 performances. She sang the role of Delilah in "Samson and Delilah", with Richard Tucker performing as Samson. In her farewell performance in January 1972, Warfield
Gioachino Rossini Sterbini and not the same as that already used by Giovanni Paisiello in his own "Barbiere", an opera which had enjoyed European popularity for more than a quarter of a century. Much is made of how quickly Rossini's opera was written, scholarship generally agreeing upon two or three weeks. Later in life, Rossini claimed to have written the opera in only twelve days. It was a colossal failure when it premiered as "Almaviva"; Paisiello's admirers were extremely indignant, sabotaging the production by whistling and shouting during the entire first act. However, not long after the second performance, the opera became