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Lyric Opera — Bellini’s “Norma”: Soprano Sondra Radvanovsky brings another of her celebrated bel canto heroines to Lyric, where she will assume the title role of the tragic Druid priestess in director Kevin Newbury’s new-to-Chicago production. Her co-stars are tenor Russell Thomas as Pollione and mezzo-soprano Elizabeth DeShong as Adalgisa. Lyric newcomer Riccardo Frizza conducts. Opens Saturday and runs through Feb. 25 at the Civic Opera House, 20 N. Wacker Drive; $17-$349; 312-827-5600, www.lyricopera.org
Axiom Brass: The Chicago-based quintet explores contemporary brass works and outer space with a program that includes music by Jan Bach and Anders Hillborg, as well as local composer James M. Stephenson’s “Celestial Suite,” for which astrophysicist Kyle Kremer will narrate and supply visual images. 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nichols Concert Hall, 1490 Chicago Ave., Evanston; free; www.axiombrass.com
Chinese New Year Celebration Concert: Symphony Center will honor the occasion with a two-part program. Members of China’s Shaanxi Province Song and Dance Theatre National Orchestra will perform traditional Chinese selections to begin the concert. After intermission, CSO concertmaster Robert Chen will play “The Butterfly Lovers” violin concerto with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago under Francesco Lecce-Chong. 3 p.m. Sunday, Symphony Center, 220 S. Michigan Ave.; $20-$75; 312-294-3000, www.cso.org
Kremerata Baltica: Virtuoso violinist Gidon Kremer’s well-traveled chamber orchestra — made up of young musicians from Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania — returns to downtown Chicago with a program that includes arrangements of Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition” and Tchaikovsky’s “Serenade melancolique,” along with works by Arvo Part, Mieczyslaw Weinberg and Valentin Silvestrov. 8 p.m. Wednesday, Symphony Center, 220 S. Michigan Ave.; $22-$88; 312-294-3000, www.cso.org
Lyric Opera — Mozart’s “The Magic Flute”: Director Neil Armfield’s new production treats the composer’s tuneful singspiel as a grand show put on by kids in the backyard of their parents’ suburban Chicago home, circa 1960. A strong cast includes Matthew Polenzani as the princely hero Tamino, with Christiane Karg as Pamina, Adam Plachetka as the bird catcher Papageno, Kathryn Lewek as the Queen of the Night and Christof Fischesser as Sarastro. Rory Macdonald conducts. Through Friday at the Civic Opera House, 20 N. Wacker Drive; $17-$329; 312-827-5600, www.lyricopera.org
New Philharmonic: Kirk Muspratt conducts staged concert performances of perhaps the most popular of the Gilbert and Sullivan operettas, “The Mikado.” Michael La Tour is the stage director. 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday, McAninch Arts Center, College of DuPage, 425 Fawell Blvd., Glen Ellyn; $49; 630-942-4000, www.atthemac.org
St. Olaf Choir: The venerable Minnesota chorus returns to the Chicago area for a series of concerts under director Anton Armstrong. 3 p.m. Sunday, Wentz Concert Hall, 171 E. Chicago Ave., Naperville; 7:30 p.m. Feb. 9, Fourth Presbyterian Church, 126 E. Chestnut St.; and 7 p.m. Feb. 10, DeKalb High School Auditorium, 501 W. Dresser Road, DeKalb; $30-$40, $10 for students; 630-637-7469 (Naperville), www.northcentral.vbotickets.com/events; 800-363-5487 (Chicago and DeKalb), wp.stolaf.edu/tickets
Schubertiade Chicago: More than 25 musicians will perform on two stages, simultaneously, in the PianoForte Foundation’s 13th annual celebration of Franz Schubert’s chamber and vocal music. The casual event is free, but donations are welcome. 12 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Sunday, PianoForte Studios, 1335 S. Michigan Ave.; 312-291-0291, www.pianofortefoundation.org
Spektral Quartet: Maeve Feinberg makes her first public appearances as the group’s new violinist. The program for both venues holds Beethoven’s “Harp” Quartet, Ravel’s Quartet in F major and Dai Fujikura’s String Quartet No. 1 (“Another Place”). 7:30 p.m. Friday, Fulton Hall, University of Chicago, 1010 E. 59th St.; free; and 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Fermilab, second-floor art gallery, Outer Ring Road, Warrenville; $17; www.spektralquartet.com
Winter Chamber Music Festival: The Bienen School of Music’s 21st annual celebration of chamber music concludes with two concerts. At 7:30 p.m. Friday, the St. Lawrence String Quartet will perform quartets by Haydn, Mendelssohn and Jonathan Berger. At 7:30 p.m. Sunday, violinist Simone Lamsma, CSO cellist Kenneth Olsen and pianist Andrew Armstrong will play Tchaikovsky’s Piano Trio in A minor. The program also holds Schubert’s Sonatina No. 1 and Prokofiev’s Violin Sonata No. 1. The festival runs through Sunday. Pick-Staiger Concert Hall, Northwestern University, 50 Arts Circle Drive, Evanston; $30, $10 for students; 847-467-4000, www.concertsatbienen.org
John von Rhein is a Tribune critic.
Twitter @jvonrhein
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