The opera season at this mid-18th century theater, located in the grounds of the Swedish royal family's ornate summer palace and reachable by a 50-minute "theater boat" from Stockholm, features a production of Handel's Julius Caesar. June 21-July 7
www.drottningholmsteatern.dtm.se

Placido Domingo sings the role of Siegmund in Die Walküre on June 19 and conducts Aida on the 20th. "How often do you get to see Domingo do that in two days?" asks director Valery Gergiev. "Experience this and you will not be the same person." St. Petersburg, Russia; June 1-July 1

A new production of Benjamin Britten's The Rape of Lucretia on June 8 and 11, the first here for 30 years, marks the 25th anniversary of the composer's death. www.aldeburgh.co.uk

Among the highlights of this Belgium-wide festival are performances of Rachmaninoff's All-Night Vigil on June 29 and July 3 in Limburg and Gustav Leonhardt performing harpsichord music from the 17th and 18th centuries in Bruges on Aug. 7. www.festival-van-vlaanderen.be

As part of this four-week event (June 9-July 3), John Eliot Gardiner conducts an out-of-season performance of Handel's Messiah at the 6th century basilica of Hagia Eirene on June 15. www.istfest.org

Verdi isn't the only one getting the full treatment this summer. To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the death of Arnold Schönberg, part of this year's Vienna festival will be devoted to works of the Austrian composer, including Moses und Aron and all of the String Quartets. Through July 13.

Zubin Mehta conducts Berlioz's The Trojans in a National Theater concert on June 30 that will be simultaneously broadcast to an audience in the city's Max-Joseph-Platz. www.bayerische.staatsoper.de

Along with its dose of Verdi offerings (including a performance of the Requiem on June 30), this festival features violin soloist Shlomo Mintz performing works by Brahms and Bruckner with Bologna's Teatro Comunale Orchestra on June 27. Teatro Comunale, Florence, Italy. www.maggiofiorentino.com



The former boy toy is now 42 and the mother of two. But Mrs. Guy Ritchie is still the hottest pop act around, which is why tickets to her July 4 concert at London's Earl Court (the expected highlight of a European tour kicking off in Barcelona on June 9) are going for up to $700 on Ebay.
www.madonnamusic.com

The Aussie rockers' eight-country stadium tour starts in the U.K. on June 8, where they'll be backed by Offspring and Megadeth. (Rest of tour continues through June 24.) Milton Keynes, England.

It may be overambitious for Hultsfred to call its main stage Hawaii. But this three-day bash in rural Sweden (June 14-16) does enjoy almost round-the-clock sunlight and a stellar list of international acts — Limp Bizkit, the Manic Street Preachers and Aimee Mann — plus local artists such as Håkan Hellström. Hultsfred, Sweden. www.rockparty.se

The spotlight of this year's fest (June 14-17) is on world music, starting with Moroccan gnaoua. Essaouira, Morocco. www.festival-gnaoua.co.ma

Eire's biggest dance party (June 23) has OutKast, plus Fatboy Slim, the Chemical Brothers, Goldie and Beck. Dublin, Ireland.
www.cream.co.uk

Organizers at Denmark's megafest (June 28-July 1) have banned crowd surfing and tightened security after eight fans were crushed to death during a Pearl Jam performance last year. Roskilde 2001 has the Cure's only appearance of the summer. Bob Dylan and Robbie Williams will also play. Roskilde, Denmark. www.roskilde-festival.dk

The lineup includes Fun Lovin' Criminals, Sting, Stereophonics and David Gray (June 29-July 1). Werchter, Belgium.
www.rockwerchter.be



Working with a mostly Russian cast, Cheek by Jowl company director Declan Donnellan scores a triumph with his revelatory production of this 1831 Alexander Pushkin play. On tour in Europe, with stops including London from June 12 to 16 and the Avignon Festival from July 11 to 18.

Productions include a modern-dress staging of Hamlet, along with Twelfth Night, Julius Caesar, Martin McDonagh's The Lieutenant of Inishmore and William Wycherley's Restoration comedy, Love in a Wood. Stratford-upon-Avon, England; through Oct. 13; www.rsc.org.uk

Shakespeare had the Globe. Alan Ayckbourn has the Stephen Joseph, which will stage his two new plays, the 58th and 59th of his career, Game Plan and Flat Spin, throughout the summer. Scarborough, England. www.sjt.uk.com

This highly acclaimed Japanese theater company, starring the legendary Nakamura Ganjiro III, wraps up a brief tour of the West with four performances in the greater Manchester area. The Lowry, Salford Quays, England;

As part of the Third Theater Olympics, this classic play, directed by Luc Bondy, gets an appropriate staging at Moscow's Chekhov Art Theater on June 27, 28.

The American playwright Sam Shepard receives his third Donmar Warehouse production, this time with a revival of his 1985 play staged by Chicago director Wilson Milam. London. June 28-Sept. 1. www.donmar-warehouse.com

Last chance to catch Joe Orton's Loot is June 23. Feydeau's entertaining farce, The Fall Guy, runs June 27-Aug. 11. Manchester, England. www.royalexchange.co.uk



Quarter Located on the site of the former Imperial Stables, this vast cultural complex, including the Museum of Modern Art, the Leopold Museum and the Kunsthalle, will soon be among the largest in the world. First stage opens on June 28, second part on Sept. 15.

Amplified by 80 works not included in an earlier show at London's Royal Academy, this retrospective of the 16th century artist and his contemporaries returns to the country of Caravaggio's birth. At Rome's Palazzo Venezia until July 31.

"Rembrandt's Women" (June 8-Sept. 2, then to London's Royal Academy, Sept. 22-Dec. 16). Mother, wife and mistress in the 17th century Dutch painter's art. Edinburgh. www.natgalscot.ac.uk

"Two Golden Ages: Masterpieces of Dutch and Danish Painting" (June 16-Sept. 16). The influence of the Dutch Golden Age (17th century) on painters of Denmark's Golden Age (19th century). Amsterdam. Under 18 free. www.rijksmuseum.nl

"Taking Positions: Figurative Sculpture and the Third Reich" (to Aug. 26). The human form by sculptors who flourished in Hitler's Germany and lesser-known creators isolated from the regime. Leeds, England. Free. www.leeds.gov.uk

"Disasters of War" (through June 17, then June 25-Sept. 17). Francisco de Goya's 1808-14 series of anguished etchings showing Spain ravaged by the Napoleonic Wars. Madrid. www.mcu.es/prado

World Press Photo Exhibition (June 25-July 11). Two hundred award-winning photos from the past year. The Hague, Netherlands. www.worldpressphoto.nl

"Italian Landscapes: The Outdoor Painters 1780-1830" (to July 9). The work of European artists who made the Grand Tour of Italy with folding stools, sketchbooks and sunhats. Part of an Italian season in Paris running until July 22. www.paris.org/Musees/GPalais

"Vermeer and the Delft School" (June 20-Sept. 16). Johannes Vermeer and Pieter de Hooch helped make the Dutch town of Delft an artistic center in the late 1640s. London. Free. www.nationalgallery.org.uk

"Pieter Breugel the Elder" (to Aug. 5). Almost all the graphic work of this 16th century Flemish painter. Rotterdam, the Netherlands. www.boijmans.rotterdam.nl

"Twenty Centuries in Cathedrals" (June 29-Nov. 4). Paintings, sculptures, stained glass and other treasures from French cathedrals. Reims, France. www.monum.fr

"Echo of the Scream" (June 17-Sept. 15). How Munch's painting influenced such artists as Warhol and Bacon. Oslo. Tel: +47 23 24 14 00; www.munch.museum.non castello gardens and venice arsenal Venice Biennale (June 10-Nov. 4). Brings together young unknowns and established stars. Venice. www.labiennaledivenezia.net



The Bordeaux Opera Ballet presents an updated version of Coppélia (June 15-19) — the story of a mad scientist trying to bring a mechanical doll to life — by transposing it to small-town America circa 1950 and naming the young hero Fonzy. Then Germany's Tanztheater Wuppertal contemporary dance company performs to folk music from Italy, Bolivia, New Orleans and music from the 1930s (June 27-30). Paris. www.chatelet-theatre.com

Amsterdam goes avant-garde through the month of June with acts from all over the world. This year's highlight comes from America, with the Merce Cunningham Dance Company presenting biped (June 26-27), which features dancers partnered with their digitalized alter egos, and Interscape (June 29-30), choreographed to the music of John Cage performed by the Dutch Philharmonic Orchestra. Amsterdam. www.holndfstvl.nl

Britain's oldest dance ensemble celebrates its 75th anniversary with a two-week program (June 12-23) that includes newly commissioned works by Richard Alston and acclaimed young choreographer Wayne McGregor. Artistic director Christopher Bruce joins the party with Rooster, a collection of '60s dances set to classic Rolling Stones tunes. Sadler's Wells, London. www.sadlers wells.com

Rudolf Nureyev's dynamic version of Roméo et Juliette with a score by Sergei Prokofiev (June 3-16) Opéra Bastille, Paris. www.operadeparis.fr

With the help of choreographer David Bintley, the Birmingham Royal Ballet dances through the legendary tale of Good versus Evil. The first part of this two-act dramatization of the story of King Arthur can be seen at the Theatre Royal in Plymouth, England. (June 6-9). Dates for Act II are yet to be announced. www.brb.org.uk