In 1957, Verrett made her operatic debut in Britten's "The Rape of Lucretia". In 1958, she made her New York City Opera debut as Irina in Kurt Weill's "Lost in the Stars". In 1959, she made her European debut in Cologne, Germany in Nicolas Nabokov's "Rasputins Tod". In 1962, she received critical acclaim for her Carmen in Spoleto, and repeated the role at the Bolshoi Theatre in 1963, and at the NY City Opera in 1964 (opposite Richard Cassilly and Norman Treigle). Verrett first appeared at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in 1966 as Ulrica in "Un ballo in maschera".