World of Opera with host Lisa Simeone brings listeners compelling performances from top American and international opera companies. For three and a half hours each week, World of Opera encompasses the seminal operas of the 17th century; the political and social satires of the 18th century; the "bel canto" masterpieces of Donizetti and Bellini; the revolutionary 19th-century works of Verdi and Wagner; and, of course, operas in the "true-to-life" verismo style of Puccini and Mascagni.