as Rosina in 1952. She sang that role at several other theatres, including in 1953 for her first performance in France at the Aix-en-Provence Festival and for her debut at the Opéra de Monte-Carlo. She was soon engaged as a guest artist with other important European theatres during the 1950s; including the Grand Théâtre de Bordeaux, the Liceu in Barcelona, the Opéra de Nice, the Teatro Lirico Giuseppe Verdi in Trieste, the Teatro Massimo Bellini in Catania, and the Teatro Nacional de São Carlos in Lisbon. Wilson made her United States operatic debut at the Metropolitan Opera in February 1954 in the title role in Gaetano Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor, performing together with tenor Jan Peerce. Under the headline "Dolores Wilson Scores as Lucia", critic Howard Taubman of The New York Times said "Her voice is fresh in quality, large in size and flexible in production" and credited her with having " sung "a Lucia of uncommon merit". In a December 1954 performance of Susanna in Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro, Wilson was a last minute replacement for the scheduled performer Nadine Conner, and despite the last minute notice was said to have "essayed a difficult new role with great success". Her replacement of another singer, however, was less enthusiastically received; being called on to step in for Maria Callas in the role of Lucia on December 11, 1956. Even before the curtain rose, police were dispersing irate claimants for refunds on that occasion. She performed at the Met as Gilda, Oscar in Verdi's Un ballo in maschera, Rosina, and Zerlina in Mozart's Don Giovanni. On July 7, 1956 Wilson entered the annals of opera history when she created the title role in the world premiere of Douglas Moore's seminal work The Ballad of Baby Doe at the Central City Opera in Central City, Colorado, with Lenya Gabriele alternating in the role during the rest of its initial run. In November 1956 she made her debut at the Lyric Opera of Chicago as Musetta in Giacomo Puccini's La bohème. In 1957 she toured to 23 cities in the United States with the NBC Opera Theatre performing the role of Violetta in Verdi's La traviata. At the Metropolitan Opera in March 1959, Wilson removed a neck brace she was wearing and filled in for Lily Pons in the title role of Lucia di Lammermoor, completing the performance but collapsing