Everyone needs a vacation, even musicians, and the summer is quite naturally a time that the classical music world slows down. So this is it for your Classical Music Agenda, until August. This week's installment will be a little longer than normal, because there are several interesting things happening over the next couple months. If you want to hear some music this summer, you can, and here's where.

HEADLINES:
>> The most important classical music event of the summer is the William Kapell International Piano Competition and Festival hosted by the University of Maryland next month. It only happens every four years, and the competing pianists and associated concert performers are always of the highest caliber. The competition begins on July 10, with preliminary and semifinal rounds, including requirements in solo and chamber music formats, leading up to a final round of three pianists each performing a concerto with the Baltimore Symphony on July 21. Think of it as the NCAA tournament of classical music, in honor of one of the greatest American pianists, William Kapell.

>> Performers also appearing as part of the Kapell Festival this year include pianist Garrick Ohlsson (July 12, lecture-presentation at 2 p.m. and concert at 8 p.m.), cellist David Finckel and pianist Wu Han (July 17, lecture-presentation at 11 a.m. and concert at 8 p.m.), pianist Marilyn Nonken and composer Jason Eckardt (July 18, 11 a.m.), pianist and composer Philip Glass playing his own compositions (July 18, 8 p.m.), and much more. All of these concerts take place in the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center in College Park.

>> The Summer Music Festival at Washington National Cathedral later this month offers several excellent free performances (and some that are not free). Free concerts that deserve your attention include the organ recital by Alan Morrison, who teaches at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia (June 17, 5 p.m.), the program of medieval Italian music performed by Hesperus (June 21, 7:30 p.m.), the daring Troping the Light Fantastic program by the 21st Century Consort (June 26, 7:30 p.m.), the pure choral sounds of the Woodley Ensemble (June 27, 7:30 p.m.), the concert of Bach's viola da gamba sonatas by Miles Hoffman and J. Reilly Lewis (June 28, 7:30 p.m.), and the Independence Day Organ Concert by cathedral organists Erik Wm. Suter and Scott Hanoian (July 4, 11 a.m.). Concerts that will cost you money, but that are still worthwhile, are the Washington National Cathedral Choirs performing Baroque Classics (June 16, 7:30 p.m.) and the Cathedral Choral Society and National Symphony Orchestra performing the Chichester Psalms (June 22, 7:30 p.m.).

Photo of William Kapell (1922-1953) at the piano

>> Opera, orchestral concerts, free concerts, and more after the jump.

OPERA:
>> Summer Opera Theater Company again brings Washington two staged productions. Of great interest is the Washington area premiere of Mark Adamo's very successful Little Women. This opera was originally planned for Summer Opera Theater Company, but the premiere here was canceled because of artistic differences. June 16 and June 20, 7:30 p.m.; June 24, 2:30 p.m.

>> For the more traditionally minded, Summer Opera Theater will also present Puccini's Tosca. Baritone Jason Stearns will likely make a dastardly Scarpia. July 14 and 18, 7:30 p.m.; July 22, 2:30 p.m. Both of these productions take place in Hartke Theater, on the campus of Catholic University.

>> Wolf Trap Opera has planned a very strong season this summer, worth the trip to Vienna if you have a car. First, the company will revive the opera it commissioned from John Musto, premiered at Wolf Trap in 2004. Mark Campbell's libretto for Volpone is "unfaithfully based on the comedy by Ben Jonson." The cast features rising soprano Anne-Carolyn Bird and many other young talents. That one is in the Barns, so you can leave your mosquito repellent at home. June 22 and 29, 8 p.m.; June 24 and July 1, 2 p.m.

>> The second production at Wolf Trap is also of exceptional interest, Emmanuel Chabrier's L'Étoile, also in the Barns. This charming and weird comic opera stars mezzo-soprano Kate Lindsey, whose performance in Rossini's La Cenerentola two summers ago was one of the most impressive in recent memory at Wolf Trap. July 27 and August 3, 8 p.m.; July 29 and August 5, 2 p.m.

>> Also at Wolf Trap, the National Symphony Orchestra will give a concert performance of Bizet's Carmen, starring Denyce Graves and Simon O'Neill. This one is in the outdoor Filene Center, so there are cheaper tickets on the lawn for that picnic outing. Bring an umbrella and mosquito repellent. June 28, 8:15 p.m.

>> For something a little different, try the performance by the Washington ChuShan Chinese Opera Institute at the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China (2300 Connecticut Ave. NW). June 26, 6:30 p.m.

SYMPHONY:
>> The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra concludes its season with an excellent program of Brahms, Dvořák, and the rarely heard Korngold violin concerto this week. If you cannot attend the one performance in the Music Center at Strathmore on Saturday (June 16, 8 p.m.), there are three performances (June 14, 15, and 17) in Baltimore's Meyerhoff Symphony Hall.

>> The JCCGW Symphony Orchestra concludes its season with a concert this Sunday, with cellist Amit Peled playing the Shostakovich first cello concerto, as well as Beethoven's Egmont Overture and famous Fifth Symphony. At the Jewish Community Center of Greater Washington (Rockville, Md.), on June 17, 7:30 p.m.

>> For something inspiring, try the D.C. Youth Orchestra Reunion Concert, which is free, although you have to arrange for a ticket. Kennedy Center Concert Hall, July 8, 3 p.m.

>> The National Symphony Orchestra will be in residence in the Filene Center at Wolf Trap for several concerts this summer. The most interesting concerts feature pianist Lang Lang (July 19, 8:15 p.m.) and flutist James Galway (July 20, 8:15 p.m.).

>> Members of the NSO will also give a free season preview concert in the Kennedy Center Concert Hall. July 27, 6 p.m.

SOMETHING FREE:
>> The free concert series at the National Gallery of Art continues through July 8, with Sunday concerts every week at 6:30 p.m. and, through the month of June, additional lunchtime concerts on Wednesdays at 12:10 p.m. These concerts are of generally high quality, absolutely free, and require no ticket or reservation. Last-minute whimsy is an acceptable reason to attend. All of the concerts through the end of June are presented in connection with the new exhibit of modern photography from Eastern Europe. The programs are all of exceptional interest, mostly of early 20th-century eastern European composers you do not hear all that often. Highlights include recitals by soprano Elisabeth von Magnus (June 27, 12:10 p.m.) and the Royal String Quartet (July 8, 6:30 p.m.).

>> Free events will continue at the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage throughout the summer. Upcoming classical concerts include violinist Ana Milosavljevic (June 15) and the young leaders of the National Conducting Institute (June 16, in the Concert Hall). These concerts, which all begin at 6 p.m., also require no ticket or reservation.

>> The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception hosts a Summer Organ Recital Series on Sunday evenings all summer long. All recitals are free and begin at 6 p.m. in the Great Upper Church, a spectacular space to hear this kind of music. Especially worth mention are recitals by Richard Fitzgerald (this evening, June 10), Peter Latona (June 24), Paul Skevington with trumpeter Phil Snedecor (July 22), Maurizio Corazza from the Roman church of San Pietro in Montorio (July 29), and Giorgio Parolini from Milan's Basilica Santa Eufemia (August 26).

ALSO OF NOTE:
>> Soprano Paulina Pfeiffer with pianist Inese Klotina, at the Corcoran Gallery of Art. June 14, 7 p.m.

>> Harpist Katryna Tan at the Embassy of Singapore, as part of the Embassy Series. June 15 and 16, 8 p.m.

>> An Operatic Vocal Gala in the Music Center at Strathmore. August 5, 4 p.m.

>> The University of Maryland Summer Sings features a free performance of the Brahms German Requiem at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center in College Park. August 5, 7 p.m.

>> As always, for more concert information, go to Ionarts.

Photo of soprano Anne-Carolyn Bird by Kevin Clark