In 1964, she made her operatic debut as Olympia in Les contes d'Hoffmann with Chattanooga Opera.
She appeared the next year with the New York City Opera, as Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni.
Shane's performance in the 1971 live recording of Les Huguenots received praise as "borderline astonishing" by reviewer Charles Parsons.
She debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in 1973 as the Queen of the Night.
Her repertoire at the Met, over eight seasons, included La bohème (as Musetta), Un ballo in maschera (as Oscar), Le siège de Corinthe, La traviata, Lucia di Lammermoor, Le prophète (as Berthe, in John Dexter's production), and Rigoletto.Shane returned to the New York City Opera in 1979, creating the title character in Dominick Argento's Miss Havisham's Fire, and singing in La traviata.