Lively Slice of Old Vienna : In Bow to Strauss Jr., Pacific Symphony Conjures Spirit of the Age

Brahms once wrote the opening bars of “An der schonen blauen Donau” (On the Beautiful Blue Danube) on a lady’s fan, penning the inscription “Leider nicht von Brahms” (Alas, not by Brahms) beneath them. In a performance Saturday at Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the death of its true composer, the Pacific Symphony built a “Night in Old Vienna” program around music by Johann Strauss Jr.

Because of the recent death of his son, Music Director Carl St.Clair was not on hand to conduct. Patrick Summers, who heads the Houston Grand Opera, took the podium. Despite stepping up at the last minute, Summers led readings with enough panache to make Brahms’ nod to a carefree elegance--that was never a part of his own writing, but was an integral component of Strauss’ and of Viennese musical life--understandable.

Supported by a balanced and unobtrusive sound system, Summers directed crisp performances of the Overture to “Die Fledermaus,” “Tales from the Vienna Woods” and “On the Beautiful Blue Danube,” full of sprightly, stylish pacing and good-humored exuberance. With the last two works, the orchestra was pushed back to make room for dancers from the Los Angeles Opera--Glean Lewis, Karen Christenberry, Michael McClure and Jennifer Garrette--who provided kitschy waltzes under a crystal chandelier suspended from the rafters.

Violinist Judith Ingolfsson and soprano Robin Follman joined as soloists for the evening. Twenty-six-year-old Ingolfsson wavered between subtlety and blandness with a self-contained, inward-looking approach to Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 5, in A, K. 219. But the Iceland native’s penchant for clean, attractive understatement worked well with Kreisler’s usually overstated “Liebesfreud” (Love’s Joy), “Caprice Viennois,” and “Schon Rosmarin” (Pretty Rosemary).

Follman, who has often been heard locally, looked resplendent in a flowing blue gown and formal white gloves but sounded ponderous and not always sure of her intonation in “Adele’s Laughing Song” and Czardas from “Die Fledermaus.” She fared better in “Vilja” from “Die Lustige Witwe” (The Merry Widow), by Lehar--sung in English, as were all the arias--in which she used the long lines and slow tempo to ease into phrases and showcase rich tone. “Vienna, City of My Dreams” by Sieczynski received an overblown performance not entirely out of keeping with the schlock that it is.