Colorful Evening With Mehta

A tight and authoritative beginning, a resplendent end and some sagging in the middle: Zubin Mehta’s latest return to the podium of the Los Angeles Philharmonic netted a colorful performance of a novel program Thursday night at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.

This visit offered an unusual mix of works--Beethoven’s Second “Leonore” Overture, a choral song by Schubert, Brahms’ Alto Rhapsody and Prokofiev’s “Alexander Nevsky.”

Mehta conducted this program with his usual command and confidence, leading the orchestra and the Los Angeles Master Chorale into mellow but stunning brilliance in the several peak moments of “Nevsky,” partnered well by the effortless vocal splendors achieved by the Master Chorale.

Anna Larsson, the Swedish contralto, sang the “Field of the Dead” aria with great beauty of tone, a sumptuous legato and perfect ease.

In the program’s quiet midsection, Larsson was also the opulent-voiced soloist in the Alto Rhapsody, a work even the most dedicated Brahms lovers sometimes find off-putting: It starts nowhere, goes nowhere and dawdles all the while. Here, it emerged as perfectly lovely: Larsson and the men of the Master Chorale made round and gorgeous sounds, but, still, sleep beckoned the listener.

Before that, Schubert’s admired choral piece, “Gesang der Geister uber den Wassern” (Song of the Spirits Over the Waters), also threatened to halt the forward motion of the evening. In a small room, this charming piece for men and a small body of strings might make an impact. In a large hall, with the men apparently striving to swallow their consonants and make everything smooth, it came out neutral at best.

Reminding us that Beethoven remains one of his specialties, Mehta began the evening with a controlled, impassioned and stylistically detailed performance of the “Leonore” Overture No. 2. The Philharmonic played it with deep commitment and utter relish.

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This program repeats tonight at 8 and Sunday at 2:30 p.m. in the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, 135 N. Grand Ave. $10-$70. (323) 365-3500.