Ms. Warfield made her Met debut in 1953, singing the part of a peasant girl in Mozarts Marriage of Figaro. One hundred seventy-two appearances with the Met followed, in roles like Berta in Rossinis Barber of Seville, Marcellina in Figaro, Erda in Wagners Siegfried, Maddalena in Verdis Rigoletto and Ulrica in his Ballo in Maschera.
In December 1971 Ms. Warfield sang Delilah to Richard Tuckers Samson in Camille Saint-Sanss Samson et Dalila, on the Metropolitan stage. The next month, in her farewell performance at the Met, she sang Delilah opposite her husband, the distinguished tenor James McCracken.