[14] On March 14, 1960, she performed the world premiere of four song cycles, one each by composers Stanley Hollings-Worth, Paul Ramsier, Charles Turner, and Lee Hoiby respectively, in recital at Carnegie Hall.
[16] The following June she sang Zerbinetta in Strauss's Ariadne auf Naxos at the Cincinnati Opera with Eleanor Steber in the title role,[17] and in July she was seen as Leïla in Bizet's Les pêcheurs de perles at the Empire State Music Festival.
[20] On May 5, 1961, Venora made her first of many appearances at the San Francisco Opera (SFO) as Mimì in Giacomo Puccini's La Bohème opposite George Shirley as Rodolfo.
She returned to the SFO annually through 1964, portraying such roles as Blanche in Francis Poulenc's Dialogues of the Carmelites, Concepción in Maurice Ravel's L'heure espagnole, Esmerelda in Bedřich Smetana's The Bartered Bride, the Guardian of the Temple Gates in Strauss's Die Frau ohne Schatten, Juliette in Charles Gounod's Roméo et Juliette, Klingsor's Maiden in Richard Wagner's Parsifal, Lauretta in Puccini's Gianni Schicchi, Leila, Marzelline in Ludwig van Beethoven's Fidelio, Micaëla, Norina in Gaetano Donizetti's Don Pasquale, Susannah, and the title role in Puccini's Manon Lescaut.
In March 1964 Venora made her first appearance at New York City's Town Hall giving a recital of mostly contemporary American works with accompanist David Garvey.
[29] In 1974, Miss Verona appeared in the world premiere of Hans Werner Henze's Rachel, la cubana, for WNET Opera Theatre, opposite Susanne Marsee and Alan Titus, conducted by the composer.