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How turned off are you by audience noise such as coughing and "premature" clapping?

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#1 ·
How turned off are you by audience noise such as coughing and "premature" clapping?

Hi, I'm relatively new to opera and was just wondering about everyone's opinions on audience noise. Personally, I don't like crowd noise too much. I don't have a problem with clapping after they've finished playing/singing but I can't stand it if they start before. I think I have a few recordings of orchestral works and operas where people start clapping before the orchestra or singer is finished! I have a problem listening to these even if the playing/singing is really good. What about coughing? I hate it! I think I also have a few recordings where I can hear coughing and it drives me nuts.

I think if a recording was supposed to be the best recording available but if it had coughing or excessive clapping, even the slightest, I would rather listen to one that's not supposed to be as good but didn't have the audience noise.
 
#2 ·
Well, coughing is something that you cannot hold, literally: would be very unhealthy, and if someone coughes, well it is annoying, yet I can live with it (if it is a good performance).

Clapping through pieces, or even in between movements or, if speaking about opera, acts or scenes, is just criminal in my opinion, can not stand it.
 
#4 · (Edited)
Well, coughing is something that you cannot hold
I've never understood why people can't simply cough into a thick cloth. Is it that hard to remember to bring one to the concert/opera hall?

Re: the OP - Classical music and opera are to be listened to attentively. A classical concert is not a eff**ng rock concert. Noises distract and impair the atmosphere. People who don't get this - or are too damned inconsiderate to moderate their behavior for those who do - are a goddamned blight. What next? Shall we wave our cigarette lighters and scream "FIREBIRD!" every few seconds. I find the pathetic need to fill every silence with clapping ignorant to the point of bizarre.

People should understand that in general soloists do not like it, conductors do not like it, orchestras do not like it, composers do not like it. The only person who thinks it should be standard is the person who thinks their enjoyment of a piece -- or in some cases, their personal amazement that they actually enjoyed it -- is more important than the genuine artistry on show. Shame on them.

And lastly: the snobbery argument comes from those who find it intimidating that they might actually have to work at something to maximize their appreciation of it. Instead of pandering to them and dragging the most transcendental of experiences down to the lowest possible common denominator we should encourage and inform, and propagate the message that classical music is nothing to be afraid of?
 
#3 ·
I had a slightly heated discussion with a Spanish opera lover with regards to this clip of Franco Corelli in Tosca. He said he thought it was a question of culture, and that the Italian fans were not being rude, just very enthusiastic.

It still seems to me disrespectful of the other singers, and somehow I've not been too keen on Corelli since then, he seems too much of a show-off and I prefer ensemble players. I must be British to the core:D.
 
#26 · (Edited)
I had a slightly heated discussion with a Spanish opera lover with regards to this clip of Franco Corelli in Tosca. He said he thought it was a question of culture, and that the Italian fans were not being rude, just very enthusiastic.
Seems only natural to me the "italian" audience instant reaction to these great exciting moments of opera, I am very used to listening to Callas and other live 1950s recordings from La Scala etc and singers of that time were more vocally dramatic and caused great excitement in the audience.....gets programed into me where in a studio recording I am almost subconsciously adding applause in mind after a great climax.

Besides the awkward timing offset of waiting for orchestra to play out before applause, there is also sometimes physical reasons for instant applause because singer is exiting the stage after climax note of aria
 
#11 ·
I don't mind a few coughs here and there, but too many can ruin hearing a piece of music. I once saw a guy leave as he had to cough violently, he went out and did it in the lobby, I could still hear it from the concert hall. But I think its a good thing to do in that kind of extreme case, just leave.

Clapping between movements sometimes bothers me, sometimes not. Depends. In pieces that are unfamiliar, it is excusable. I've done it myself. Especially if there's lots of movements - as in a 'new music' piece - and you don't know which is the final movement, eg. the right time to clap. Usually though, as I get more experience seeing concerts, I can see when the musicians are finished (eg. they relax their arm muscles, smile, or they look pooped at the end of a mammoth piece - eg. they're thinking 'thank God that's over!').

But what I can't stand is children who are fidgeting and stuff like that. But I have been to concerts where children sitting near me where very well behaved. It depends on a number of factors, eg. if they want to be there or not, or just being dragged along, or their age or maturity in attitude, etc.
 
#12 ·
I've never noticed any coughing etc. The only thing which distracts me is if people/person I'm with are fidgety, complaining, doing anything... Perhaps we have a very good audience here...

I was at a concert the other day and they were playing Vivaldi's Gloria. After the Domine Deus aria everyone clapped. I did too because it was a very moving performance. I don't have a problem with clapping mid-piece if its done genuinely - I think the expression of enthusiasm improves the audience's engagement with the piece, even if it isn't artistically kosher.
 
#13 ·
I don't get it why people only seem to cough during silent phases of the music, or it might be that coughs are inaudible during fortissimo passages.

I believe it was commonplace to banter during concerts and recitals even throughout the 19th century. Liszt reportedly refused to perform for such a crowd and demanded silence while he was playing. I'm not sure I could stomach the concert halls of yore when everybody was having their own conversation whilst some great master played his music as pleasant background noise.
 
#14 ·
One Swedish musician performing in China a long time ago was a bit annoyed when the audience wouldn't keep quiet. Lots of people were talking loudly while he was playing. So he asked them to please be silent, which made them furious!!! If I remember correctly, he gave up and kept playing so they wouldn't beat him up! :)
 
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#15 · (Edited)
Another annoying audience noise is walking in high heels. I was at a concert once, where some woman sitting on one of the first rows got up at the end of the brief pause between movements in some symphony, just as the conductor was getting ready to begin the next movement, and walked all the way to the doors at the back of the concert hall to get out. For twenty seconds or so, the only sound heard was her click, clack, click, clack, click, clack. The conductor turned around, quite annoyed, and demonstratively waited for her to get out, but she didn't seem to notice him or the equally annoyed audience. I wasn't that annoyed though. More amazed and amused. :)
 
#16 ·
What a range of responses! I remember a performance of Carmen I attended, this one lady started coughing during the card song. I was outraged. I understand if you have to cough, but during the quietest and most beautiful piece of music in the whole piece? Surely you can control yourself better than that. But I've had times when I've felt I've just had to cough, too.

What really bothers me is the cell phones. People who don't know to turn off their cell phones - or think they're exempt from that courtesy - bug the hell out of me. It's just not nice. What we NEED is some way to protest effectively without violence. I confess I'm kind of at a loss here. Usually the cell phone abuser is not right next to you, but if she were, what would you do? Hiss?
 
#18 ·
I hate it. I also hate people attending performaces - attired in tatty jeans or the like - and stuffing their faces with food. This happened at the Nottingham Royal Concert hall perf of a russian company doing sleeping beauty. At least 1/3 of the audience mumched, rustled - badly dressed etc etc. I wrote a letter of complain to the manager and he replied that popcorn or sweets are an important part of the evening for ballet fans at that venue.
 
#17 · (Edited)
I think there are far worst things for the health of classical music than audiences who want to show their appreciation for a piece in between movements or before the piece is over. That's how it was done before the twentieth century anyway, and especially in light of the thread on snobbery in classical music, I would say it does not necessarily help classical music's cause to tell people that their appreciation is not wanted until the appropriate time. I'm not saying this in itself is an example of snobbery, but it's not hard to see why a newcomer would perceive it as such.
 
#19 ·
You know what else is annoying (mostly on instrumental recordings)? Hearing the musicians turning the pages of their music >_> I've played in both large and small groups with sheet music, and its not difficult to be quiet turning those pages. I dunno, maybe its the fault of the engineers putting mics to close to the stands or something.
 
#20 ·
I'm beginning to feel quite fortunate -- the opera house in my city doesn't allow people to carry food, drink, etc., into the auditorium. Prior to the performance, the (very nice) artistic director comes onstage to welcome the audience and then reminds everyone to turn off cell phones, pagers, etc., or at least put them on vibrate. So munching, crunching, and related noises, or the ring of someone's electronic gadget is something I've never heard in a performance here.

I agree that one should make every effort to suppress a cough, or if that fails, then at least to cover one's mouth with a handkerchief or tissue and do the very best to minimize the sound. If some folks begin to applaud a little early at the end of an aria or ensemble -- or what they think is the end -- I'm not terribly bothered by it. In a way, it at least tells me that we're attracting more newcomers to the opera, and that's usually a good thing.

What does irritate me no end are the blabbermouths who think overtures, or any other part of the performance, were written to provide accompaniment for their blather. I haven't had much of a problem with that locally, but have encountered it in places like the Met where one would hope people know better.
 
#22 ·
At the end of an Act in opera, I hate it when the audience start clapping before the music ends. The end of an Act is usually quite dramatic and that moment of silence at the end is very special.

I went to Seattle in January & was surprised that some of the audience got up from their seats the very moment the opera ended, even before the curtain came down. I can understand that people don't always want to see the curtain calls but I thought this was bad manners.

I wonder sometimes at people's thinking. I had a guy behind me once who started singing along, I whipped round & glared at him so viciously, he got the message. If he hadn't I would've said something.

And I sat next to a guy in Munich who farted all the way through the first part of L'elisir d'amore. After the interval I made a great show of holding my handkerchief over my nose & he sort of smirked at me but he didn't do it again. I just wonder what his partner thought.
 
#28 ·
At the recent Operalia at ROH this happened (I picked it up on Twitter)

What happened was this: there were 2 v annoying women - who talked repeatedly - in front of us. They were asked politely not to. >>

>>they were shushed. They kept talking. When 1 pulled out her phone (mid-aria) the guy next to us tapped her on the shoulder >>

>> the man with the 2 women took great offence at this, stood up & started verbally abusing the other guy (still mid-aria) & stormed off

>>after the interval several of us spoke to the duty manager about all this & he had a word with the people concerned. As soon as he left>>

>> the guy threatened to break the other man's legs after the show. Several of us told the usher, who did NOTHING. (The women still talked!)

Phew. That's it. Yet another lovely experience in the Stalls circle at the ROH.
:mad: unbelievable
 
#30 ·
Yes, audience noise drives me right up the wall. I would not be that disturbed by an audience that was just carried away by something amazing, and would probably be right there with them but that would be a unique experience, not a habitual behavior. Alan Gilbert became my hero of 2012 when he stopped a performance of the NY Philharmonic until a cell phone was silenced: http://www.wqxr.org/#!/blogs/wqxr-blog/2012/jan/11/wild-night-philharmonic-after-phone-interruption/

I was at the Met several years ago for L'Elisir d'Amore and RIGHT at that very, very quiet beginning to Una Furtiva Lagrima, guess what? Yep, a cell phone started ringing............. fortunately it was silenced almost immediately but, honestly, some people are SUCH troglodytes!! :mad:
 
#31 ·
Yes, audience noise drives me right up the wall. I would not be that disturbed by an audience that was just carried away by something amazing, and would probably be right there with them but that would be a unique experience, not a habitual behavior. Alan Gilbert became my hero of 2012 when he stopped a performance of the NY Philharmonic until a cell phone was silenced: http://www.wqxr.org/#!/blogs/wqxr-blog/2012/jan/11/wild-night-philharmonic-after-phone-interruption/
Great story Dakota. What an idiot the phone owner was.
 
#34 · (Edited)
When music was largely an aristocratic function the audience - taking their cue from the likes of HRM Maria Theresa, and Catherine the Great to name only two - often played cards during concerts, drank champagne, and strolled about and listening to the latest gossip. I don't like the clapping during music in certain operas - 'number' operas, however, which have the big cadential bang on the head after every aria, ensemble or chorus almost need applause like prime time Comedy TV needs 'laugh tracks'.

Basically, though...it's very irritating.
 
#35 ·
Really, it seems to me that a piece of music is great however it is performed.

If a performance is great then it is a great performance - no matter what the audience does, taking it from a sort of hypothetical observer's point of view.

There remains the listener. If the listener prefers to play cards (or whatever), or if (s)he likes to clap if he's enthusiastic, or if (s)he likes to listen in silence until the end of the piece. Which gains the greatest enjoyment - and which has the highest quality of entertainment (controversial term I thought I'd introduce there)? Is cards greater than music? Most people here I would have thought would have agreed it isn't. There remain the other two.

Clapping is a method of expressing one's admiration for the composer or performer as a member of the audience. Clapping in the middle of a piece may or may not disturb one's appreciation of the work of art. It may or may not improve one's experience if one does break out into applause mid-piece because one is so impressed.

(opinion) It strikes me it may often actually be a good idea to clap after something very good - because then you aren't disappointed if what comes after is a little bit of a let down. What I think is bad is if this mid-piece clapping becomes habitual. I think one's appreciation of the art should be able to withstand a little bit of genuine enjoyment however.

Other noises really are a pain - but probably only as much so as one is able to be distracted - not that being more distractible necessarily implies that one enjoys the piece less.
 
#43 ·
On the other hand I'd love to have had some usher backup when I sat next to the unwashed young woman with the constantly active iPhone, crackly plastic bottles full of vodka and water, and juicy slurpy nectarines that had to be retrieved from a handbag with a lot of vigorous rummaging. Because I was stuck in the middle of the row, I could do no more than ask her to stop (which she refused) and then after any fuss that I made would have been worse than what she was doing.
 
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