SUMMER SPLASH II: Orange County : Our Hottest picks for a Jam-Packed Summer : MUSIC AND DANCE

Orange County wades into its second hundred years facing a summer that’s filled with a wider range of arts and entertainment activities than ever.

The Calendar staff of the Times Orange County Edition selects highlights among the hundreds of choices offered at the county’s theaters, art museums, outdoor amphitheaters, concert halls, comedy clubs, movie theaters and elsewhere to stave off any summer doldrums that might dare to take roost.

From fireworks to tutus to tugboats . . .

The Pacific Symphony will return to Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre for another season of five concerts, beginning July 4 and ending Sept. 15. Two concerts include fireworks.

Opera Pacific brings the great American musical “Show Boat” to the Center, July 13-22. The Australian Ballet returns to the United States for its first visit in 12 years to dance “Giselle” and mixed repertory works, Aug. 7-12, at the Center.

Orchestras

* Yuri Temirkanov will lead the Philadelphia Orchestra in Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 1 and Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 5 at 8 p.m. on Thursday at the Orange County Performing Arts Center in Costa Mesa. Temirkanov is chief conductor of the Leningrad Philharmonic and principal guest conductor with the Royal Philharmonic of Great Britain. The Center concert is sponsored by the Performing Arts Society. Tickets: $17-$50. Information: (714) 646-6277.

The Pacific Symphony will open its five-concert summer series at the Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre at 8 p.m. on July 4, with a program by American composers ranging from Sousa to John Adams. Evans Haile will conduct. The program will include fireworks.

The remaining concerts will be at 8:30 p.m.:

-- July 21: Toshiyuki Shimada will conduct a Beethoven program, including the “Leonore” Overture No. 3, the “Pastoral” Symphony and the Piano Concerto No. 1, with soloist Andreas Bach.

-- Aug. 18: Kate Tamarkin will lead a Mozart program, including “Eine kleine Nachtmusik,” Overture to “Le Nozze di Figaro,” the “Jupiter” Symphony, and the Violin Concerto No. 5, with soloist Isabella Lippi.

-- Sept. 1: Lucas Richman, the Pacific’s assistant conductor, will lead works by Fall, Bizet, Gershwin, Ginastera and Ravel. Pianist Nelson Freire will be soloist in Falla’s “Nights in the Gardens of Spain.”

-- Sept. 15: Bruce Ferden will conduct a Tchaikovsky program, including “Marche Slave,” “1812” Overture, excerpts from “Swan Lake,” and “Variations on a Rococo Theme,” with cellist Allison Eldredge. The program will end with fireworks.

Subscription tickets: $65 to $185. Individual concerts: $8.50-$22.50. (Student and seniors can receive $2 discounts.) Information: (714) 474-4233.

Musical Theater

* Opera Pacific will present Kern and Hammerstein’s classic American musical “Show Boat,” July 13-22 at the Performing Arts Center. The production, from the Houston Grand Opera, will incorporate the original 1927 full score.

The cast will include Eddie Bracken as Captain Andy Hawks, Patti Cohenour as Magnolia Hawks, Ron Raines as Gaylord Ravenal, Lubitza Gregus as Julie LaVerne, Mic Bell as Joe and Consuelo Hill as Queenie. Jim Coleman will conduct. Michael Phillips is the stage director. Tickets: $17-60. Information: (714) 740-2000.

Ballet

* The Australian Ballet will dance “Giselle,” Lichine’s “Graduation Ball,” Lifar’s “Suite en blanc,” Jiri Kylian’s “Return to the Strange land” and Australian choreographer Stephen Bayne’s “Catalyst,” Aug. 7-12 at the Performing Arts Center. Subscription tickets (which include performances of the New York City Ballet in September and American Ballet Theatre in March, 1991): $57 to $190. Individual tickets: $14 to $47. Information: (714) 556-2787.

A list of summer arts and entertainment activities for children will appear in Wednesday’s Calendar.