Chicago Symphony Orchestra: British conductor Mark Elder, one of the CSO’s most welcome podium guests, begins a two-week residency that promises something special: With the help of actors from Chicago Shakespeare Theater, he will examine the influence of Shakespeare’s plays and other literary works on music. The all-Berlioz program he will conduct next week includes excerpts from “Romeo et Juliette” and the entire “Harold in Italy,” with Lawrence Power as viola soloist. 8 p.m. Thursday (repeated Jan. 7 and 10) at Symphony Center, 220 S. Michigan Ave.; $21-$209; 312-294-3000, cso.org
Lyric Opera of Chicago — Mozart’s ‘The Magic Flute’: The endearing and enduring singspiel returns to the Ardis Krainik Theatre for seven more performances, with Andrew Davis conducting a mostly new cast that includes Nicole Cabell as Pamina, Charles Castronovo and Alec Shrader sharing the role of Tamino, Stephane Degout as Papageno, Audrey Luna as the Queen of the Night and Gunther Groissbock as Sarastro. The gags may be well-worn but the singing is strong. Through Jan. 22 at Civic Opera House, 20 N. Wacker Drive; $34-$224; 312-332-2244, lyricopera.org
‘Salute to Vienna’: Once again the Chicago Philharmonic — playing under its seasonal contractual guise as the “Strauss Symphony of America” — enlivens the annual New Year’s celebration of favorite waltzes, polkas and operetta excerpts by Johann Strauss Jr. Hungarian conductor Andras Deak presides, with vocal soloists Renee Schuttengruber and Wolfgang Gratschmaier, and dancers from the Kiev-Aniko Ballet of Ukraine. 2:30 p.m. Monday at Symphony Center, 220 S. Michigan Ave.; $27-$115; 312-294-3000, cso.org, salutetovienna.com
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