'María de Buenos Aires'
Argentine composer Astor Piazzolla is famous for taking the tango to new levels of musical sophistication, but his "tango opera" is less well known. Mill City Summer Opera stages his sultry "María de Buenos Aires" at the Machine Shop, a hip new industrial space located in Minneapolis' old Pillsbury A Mill. The smoky Colombian soprano Catalina Cuervo sings the title role in this tale of poverty and prostitution. Bonus: Show up early to learn a few tango steps from pro instructors. (7 p.m. Fri. & Sun. through July 20, 300 SE. 2nd St., Mpls.; $50-$125, 612-875-5544, millcitysummer opera.org)
Russians on the Range
The Northern Lights Music Festival brings Tchaikovsky's classic opera "Eugene Onegin" to the Iron Range this week. Russian baritone Anton Belov sings Onegin, a bored socialite who kills a friend in a duel. He then realizes — too late — that he's in love with Tatiana, the woman he once could have married. Russian soprano Gelena Gaskarova sings Tatiana. With Moscovian Maxim Mikhailov directing and Gavriel Heine leading the orchestra (he's currently resident conductor at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg), this Onegin should have an authentically Russian tang. (7 p.m. Fri., Mesabi East School, Aurora, Minn.; 3 p.m. Sun., Chisholm High School, Chisholm, Minn.; 7 p.m. next Mon., Washington Auditorium, Ely, Minn.; $15-$30, 1-218-780-2292 or northern lightsmusic.org)
Musical power couple
Four years ago, after 34 years of service, cellist David Finckel left the storied Emerson String Quartet to pursue other projects, including a burgeoning musical partnership with his wife, pianist Wu Han. The prestigious duo leads a recital of sonatas by Beethoven (Op. 69), Brahms (No. 1) and Mendelssohn (No. 2) for Winona's Minnesota Beethoven Festival. (7:30 p.m. Tue., Page Theatre, St. Mary's University, Winona, Minn.; $21-$25, 1-507-457-1715 or mnbeethovenfestival.org)
Trumpet power
The Lake Superior Chamber Orchestra opens its summer season with a concert spotlighting Duluth trumpeter Thomas Muehlenbeck-Pfotenhauer. Swapping between piccolo trumpet, standard trumpet and fluegelhorn, Muehlenbeck-Pfotenhauer shows off his versatility in a stylistically diverse selection of works by Johann Hertel, André Jolivet and contemporary composer Richard Peaslee. (7:30 p.m. Thu., Weber Music Hall, University of Minnesota Duluth; $5-$20, lakesuperiorchamberorchestra.org)
Warland in Winona
Dale Warland, dean of American choirmasters, continues to concertize with vigor and authority. His program with the Festival Chorale for the Minnesota Beethoven Festival is a typically wide-ranging affair, with works by Britten and Holst as well as an intriguing "Eclectic Mass" that comprises movements by Nystedt, Hovland, Rautavaara, Hagen and Albright. (7:30 p.m. Sat., 3 p.m. Sun.; Chapel of St. Mary of the Angels, Winona; $21-$25, 1-507-457-1715 or mnbeethovenfestival.org)
TERRY BLAIN
