[1][2][3] Sperati made her debut in 1865 at the Central Theater in the play Les vieux péchés (Norwegian title: Gamle Minder)[4] by Mélesville and Dumanoir, at the same time as she lived and worked in her Aunt Marthine Lund's photo studio.

Sperati won recognition for her roles in plays by Ludvig Holberg and for her interpretations of Henrik Ibsen's characters, especially her portrayal of Gina Ekdal at the world premiere of The Wild Duck on January 9, 1885.

Her daughter Alvilde "Lulli" Sperati (1873–1946) was an actress and opera singer with the National Theater in Bergen.

In connection with the first performances of The Wild Duck at the National Theater in Bergen in 1885, Sperati believed that it was her experience from photography work in her Aunt Marthine Lund's studio in Kristiania that enabled her to play the role of Gina Ekdal so naturally: Hvad der bidrog til at hjælpe mig utover al mystik og ind i virkeligheten og bidrog til at jeg helt indforlivedes med og utformet min rolle i dens mange detaljer, var den omstændighet, at Gina Ekdal er saa rikelig velsignet med arbeide - alle mulige slags gjøremaal.

She struggles and strives incessantly from dawn to dusk to provide food and beer, she takes photos and patches clothes, tends the stove at the "lodger's," makes herring salad, and learns to relinquish and save for herself.Sperati's portrait was the only one that survived intact after the fire at the National Theater in Bergen in 1983,[8] an incident that was ascribed a paranormal explanation when Jørgen Fogge, the first to arrive at the scene, claimed to have heard her voice in the middle of the sea of flames.