Amber Waves Are Plain at the Bowl : Music review: ‘America the Beautiful’ program from Marilyn Horne, John Mauceri and the orchestra goes the standard route.

“Patriotism,” Samuel Johnson said, “is the last refuge of a scoundrel.” He didn’t add, “and aging mezzo-sopranos.”

But then Johnson wasn’t at Hollywood Bowl Sunday night for the first of three presentations of the “America the Beautiful” program featuring John Mauceri, the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, fireworks and mezzo-soprano Marilyn Horne in the role of Kate Smith.

Those in search of genuine musical moments (they are possible at the Bowl) had to look elsewhere. The rule this evening was keep it short, keep it snappy, move on. Mauceri, who in the best pops tradition has been known to slip his audience a little culture when it wasn’t looking, scrupulously avoided that on this occasion. Along the way, he included no less than three hoary Carmen Dragon arrangements--hey, Mr. Mauceri, they’re not that good--the highlight being “Turkey in the Straw.”

OK, all right, it was all supposed to be fun. We had fun. Really we did. All 16,884 of us. But even by the very different musical standards one brings to a pops event, this concert seemed calcified.

Appearing in sets on both halves of the concert, Horne did the diva-as-just-a-regular-person routine (very popular these days). Heavily amplified--she could have announced batters for Dodger Stadium--she first delivered five of Copland’s “Old American Songs,” in rich-voiced if rather lumpish fashion. She dispatched the barnyard noises in “I Bought Me a Cat” with conviction.

During the second half, aided by the Angeles Chorale (which in this evening’s amplification sounded canned), she ventured “You’re a Grand Old Flag,” “Shenandoah,” “Beautiful Dreamer” and, yes, “God Bless America,” staying safely in and relishing her low register, scoring few stylistic points and not entirely avoiding bombast. Why is it that opera stars think they can waltz into pop territory whenever they feel like it? With little prompting, Horne added “You’ll Never Walk Alone” from “Carousel” as an encore.

Elsewhere, Mauceri offered mundane medleys: Healy’s “Disney Classics” Overture and “Saints!” (the latter with terrific trumpeting from Rick Baptist), Broughton’s “A Frantic Fantasy,” and a decidedly forgettable world premiere of Menken’s “Pocahontas: Orchestral Suite,” which sounded as if it had been written by committee.

Thanks to a marketing ploy by concert corporate sponsors Mervyn’s and Target, we were introduced to RedWood Bear--”designed to empower kids to overcome their fears about the forces of nature”--who sang a ditty called “Home.” Mauceri began with Grofe’s “Mardi Gras” and Gould’s “American Salute” and ended with Sousa marches with fireworks. The orchestra played heartily, with a sure sense of style and liveliness, though without notable polish.