After making her opera debut in Italy, she toured Europe and Asia with the company of the Teatro di San Carlo in the early 1930s.
Her father Alfio Garrotto had previously moved to Omaha from Carlentini, Sicily in 1903 at the age of 19; coming to the United with his wife Concetta Cocugga.
[9] Garrotto made her professional debut in the Italian provinces just outside Milan as Mimì in Giacomo Puccini's La bohème while she was training in Italy.
[10][7] Her repertoire with the latter company included the title role in Madama Butterfly, Marguerite in Faust, Micaëla in Carmen, and Nedda in Pagliacci.
[4] At the NYH she performed Desdemona in Giuseppe Verdi's Otello with Pasquale Amato as Iago and Edward Ransome in the title role in October 1933.
[25] Her other repertoire at the NYH included Nedda in Pagliacci (1934),[26] Micaëla in Carmen (1935[27] and 1937),[28] Violetta in La traviata (1936[7] and 1938),[23] Desdemona in Otello (1937[29] and 1938),[23] Marguerite in Faust (1937[30] and 1939),[24] On November 16, 1935 she was a soloist in a concert given by the New York Mozart Society.
[33] In February 1927 she sang the role of Nedda with the Chicago City Opera Company (CCOC) with John Pane-Gasser as Pagliacci.
[41] In August 1938 she portrayed Violetta in La traviata at the Jones Beach Theater,[42] and that same month performed the role of Micaëla in Carmen with the Philadelphia Orchestra at Robin Hood Dell with Bruna Castagna in the title part.
[43] She returned to the CCOC in the 1938-1939 seaspn to perform the roles of Musetta in La bohème[44] Micaëla in Carmen,[45] and Liù in Turandot.
[46] In February 1939 she performed the role of Violetta to Jan Peerce's Afredo with the Philadelphia La Scala Opera Company (PLSOC).
[52] By May 1941 Garrotto was back in New York City performing Butterfly at Broadway's Majestic Theatre with the Monte Carlo Opera Company in an ill fated production that had technical difficulties with the set that caused it to close early.
[53] In 1942 she was once again singing Violetta for an opera company operated by Salmaggi; performing the part at several stadiums in the New York City area.