Wilson attended Cornell University for several years, eventually departing on a leave of absence which she filled with advanced training in acting, languages, and vocal studies with former Metropolitan Opera coloratura soprano Marilyn Cotlow.
Such roles included: It was not until the 2004/2005 season, when, as an understudy, she took over from Jane Eaglen, due to illness, as Brünnhilde in Wagner's Götterdämmerung at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, that domestic and international success was to begin.
[1] The 2008/2009 season saw Wilson make her debut in yet another Wagnerian leading role as Senta in The Flying Dutchman for Washington National Opera (she had previously sung with the company in the chorus).
Wilson's European orchestral solo debut took place in 2005, singing the four leading soprano roles in Erwin Schulhoff's opera Flammen, in a live broadcast from Amsterdam's Concertgebouw, with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra under Edo de Waart.
2011 saw her debut as Tove in Gurre-Lieder by Arnold Schoenberg, with Mehta and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, a performance recorded for eventual commercial CD release.