Classical picks:

More opera! (From the orchestra.)

Whatever dread laces the story of

Bluebeard's Castle

, the piece is one of Bartók's most gorgeous scores. The Philadelphia Orchestra performs the one-act opera Thursday to Saturday, paired with selections from Tchaikovsky's

Swan Lake

. Bass John Relyea is Bluebeard, mezzo-soprano Michelle DeYoung his new wife, Judith.

Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts the piece, which - as a tip for anyone looking for a little listening-homework before the concert - was recorded by this orchestra with Eugene Ormandy, and by Wolfgang Sawallisch with the Bavarian State Orchestra. Information: www.philorch.org or 215-893-1999.

- Peter Dobrin

That American sound. Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia is assembling seldom-heard music by major composers, presented 2:30 p.m. Sunday and 7:30 p.m. Monday at the Kimmel Center's Perelman Theater. Bold-face names are John Corigliano (Voyage for String Orchestra), Daron Hagen (Songbook: Concerto for Violin, String Orchestra, Harp, and Percussion), and Walter Piston, whose 1941 neoclassic Sinfonietta may be the substantial sleeper of the program. Violin soloist in Hagen's piece is Michael Ludwig, formerly of the Philadelphia Orchestra.

No surprise that music director Dirk Brosse assembled this: Though Belgian by birth, he "gets" America better than many natives. Information: 215-545-5451 or www.chamberorchestra.org.

- David Patrick Stearns