>> The Classical Music Agenda will return this Sunday, after hibernating all summer, but there are already a few developments to note this week in local classical news. Robert Shafer is a legend in the local choral music scene, as the long-standing director of the Oratorio Society of Washington, known in recent years as the Washington Chorus. Shafer’s particular gift is to inspire a huge group — some 200 singers, none (or few) of them…

The classical music schedule in Washington is starting to fill up, so that by February and March, we will be overwhelmed. Here are a few sure bets this week, as well as a smattering of concerts off the beaten path. THE BIG GUNS: >> Soprano Deborah Voigt has always had a big, gorgeous voice. She made news two years ago when she was fired from a production because the director wanted her character to wear…

We knew it had to happen, but here it is almost July, and we have little to tell you about this week. So, the time has come for your Classical Music Agenda to take a well-deserved summer break. Today’s installment will give you some ideas for concerts to hear from now through July. We will be back at the end of July. Until then, you can always find classical concert information at Ionarts. CAN WE…

FRIDAY: >> Mike Doughty’s band, which we assume will in fact include Mike Doughty, are taking the 9:30 Club stage tonight for a show that as of this writing is still not sold out. If you people need a reason to go above and beyond his music, allow us to present into evidence Exhibit A and Exhibit B. Oh, and Exhibit C: DCist’s awesome interview with him back in September. With Kevin Devine, 8 p.m.,…

One of the deficiencies of the city’s leading opera company, Washington National Opera, is that lately they think of Mozart as early opera. The last time the WNO staged an opera from before 1775 or so was Handel’s Julius Caesar in 2000 and the same composer’s Agrippina in 1992 before that. Baroque opera is one of my major interests, and Handel is great, but there is a century of Baroque opera before Handel, too. We…