Audience Behaviour

[capybara]

18 hours ago, Angela Essex said:I do have to admit to some foot stamping and cheering at the end of the performance though - I was quite excited to be there 🥰 and didn’t realise that wasn’t the done thing? Might have to tone it down for my next visit 😂

Foot stamping and cheering is absolutely OK ✅ Go for it as much as you want.

[bangorballetboy]

4 minutes ago, capybara said:

Foot stamping and cheering is absolutely OK ✅ Go for it as much as you want.

 

wot she sed

[Angela Essex]

11 hours ago, capybara said:

Foot stamping and cheering is absolutely OK ✅ Go for it as much as you want.

Thanks Capybara that’s good to know. I’ll be doing that this Saturday when I see The Nutcracker 😂

[Lizbie1]

Some (paywalled?) thoughts about standing ovations here - gives Haitink's views on trigger-happy applauders too. One to draw to Mr Bravo's attention perhaps?

 

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/01/16/standing-ovation-addicts-really-applauding/

[art_enthusiast]

7 hours ago, Lizbie1 said:

Some (paywalled?) thoughts about standing ovations here - gives Haitink's views on trigger-happy applauders too. One to draw to Mr Bravo's attention perhaps?

 

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/01/16/standing-ovation-addicts-really-applauding/

i agree that audience members probably shouldn't "bellow their approval of a concert performance before the final note has died away", in the words of this author. I also admit to finding it slightly annoying when clapping within performances happens, particularly ballet, as it tends to drown out the next few bars of the music. However once the music has fully ended, the audience is at perfect liberty to bellow their approval. Surely that would be preferable to a lack of appreciation.

I disagree that standing ovations are over the top all the time. I think it is another mark of the huge amount of respect we have, as audience members, for those dancers, opera singers and indeed actors that have poured their heart and soul out to us throughout their performance.

 

I was driven to a standing ovation after Thursday's matinée of "The Marriage of Figaro" - an experience and performance of a lifetime. I certainly don't regret my decision to stand and applause for those artists until my hands hurt: they deserved it. Even if it hadn't been the "performance of a lifetime" for me, the artists still deserved my respect in any way I felt appropriate to show it. Therefore, I cannot agree with the author's assertion - "stand up for nothing less than the performance of a lifetime (or a train that leaves in the next ten minutes)".

Indeed, I find it quite rude when audience members leave before the applause and curtain calls have finished - I had someone in my row do that in Marianela/Federico's Romeo and Juliet performance on the 10th; crushing my legs in the process. They didn't even say 'excuse me' which would have been polite; I found their behaviour quite disrespectful. Unless, of course, they did have an extremely pressing train to catch - but they didn't really seem to be in an extreme hurry. And if that was the case, maybe they should have chosen an end seat beforehand?

Edited January 17, 2022 by art_enthusiast

[zxDaveM]

there are some 'standing ovations' caused by one or two people standing and then a ripple effect as those behind them who can't see, stand up also to see the curtain calls

And you can't always get an aisle seat or perhaps the timetable changed after you'd booked. Still, a polite 'excuse me' would certainly cost nothing except the loss of bad manners

[capybara]

I agree that many standing ovations in London theatres (including some at Sadlers Wells) appear almost automatic.

 

However, those at the ROH seem a genuine response to the performance and/or a departing dancer (even if some of the standers are on their way out - and don’t get me started on that!).

 

The last standing ovation I recall for ENB at the Coliseum was when Elena Glurjidze retired in 2015 in a cascade of flowers.

 

I have not had the pleasure of being part of one elsewhere in the UK. But the RB and ENB are ‘stood up for’ a lot when they are touring abroad.

[Anna C]

I watched a (wonderful) John Williams concert on tv recently, it was at the Berlin Philharmonie.  The entire audience gave a standing ovation after every piece, which struck me as very respectful (but annoying if you find getting up and down difficult).  

[KyleCheng]

7 hours ago, Anna C said:

I watched a (wonderful) John Williams concert on tv recently, it was at the Berlin Philharmonie.  The entire audience gave a standing ovation after every piece, which struck me as very respectful (but annoying if you find getting up and down difficult).  

An interesting discussion on whether the German audience behaves differently. I have been to the Berlin Philharmonie twice and, considering myself very lucky, on both occasions saw towering figures holding the baton: the first time the late great Mariss Jansons and the second time Maestro Zubin Mehta.

 

They both received an extended (and entirely well-deserved) standing ovation, to the extent that both had to come back on stage after the whole orchestra had cleared the stage. Having been to many concerts in London, I don't recall seeing the same thing here.

 

I wonder if my experiences in Berlin have been extraordinary, or are concertgoers there generally more enthusiastic with their applause?

Edited January 17, 2022 by KyleCheng

[alison]

I've been to every London Jansons concert programmed from ... was it 1996? until the end, so can safely say that's never happened, but can't speak for Mehta.  I don't think I've ever seen any conductor come back onto the concert stage after the orchestra has left, though.

 

Wasn't there a concert Jansons conducted with the BPO which was live(ish)streamed into cinemas?  Did it happen then?

[Dawnstar]

12 hours ago, zxDaveM said:

And you can't always get an aisle seat or perhaps the timetable changed after you'd booked.

 

Or the running time changed after you booked or hadn't been announced when booking opened. I had to leg it out of a couple of operas at the ROH in 2019 as soon as the curtain fell because they ran late & it was go immediately or miss the train & then not get home until nearly 1am on a weeknight.

[art_enthusiast]

Just came here due to a distasteful experience with two rather dreadful audience members at the Osipova/Clarke Romeo and Juliet performance yesterday evening. 

 

I've been fortunate to see: Kaneko/Bracewell, Naghdi/Muntagirov, Lamb/McRae, Núñez/Bonelli, Naghdi/Ball, Osipova/Clarke so far during this Romeo and Juliet run. All amazing pairings who brought something unique to each performance. I thought I would miss Osipova/Clarke due to their absence at the 10th January performance (where they were replaced by Núñez/Bonelli) but was fortunate to pick up a return ticket for their evening show on the 29th.

 

Unfortunately, my experience of Osipova and Clarke's beautiful rendition was slightly marred by an unpleasant couple I was seated next to in row A of the stalls circle yesterday - they were in seats 18 and 19, I was in 20. The woman kept leaning forward frequently, causing her husband to do the same and consequently blocking some of the edges of my view.

 

I was able to see relatively clearly, I just found their irritating head bobbing a rather unwelcome distraction. Just before the second act I spoke to them very nicely and politely asked them to refrain from doing it. 

 

I thought they would respond politely, as I did myself when asked to do the same once before. The husband responded quite rudely and said he was 'leaning back as far as possible' (even though he wasn't). The wife didn't seem to understand at all and gave me a very unfriendly look, though I was impeccably polite and respectful. They continued to mutter rude comments (which I ignored) until Act 2 began.

 

In the second interval a man sitting behind me seemed to have overhead the conversation and asked me to 'please report' the lady to the usher nearby, as she was 'ruining it for everyone'. I duly did so during the second interval, and the usher made a note of my complaint, and their seat numbers.

 

I'm not sure whether anything came of it - I did not witness the usher actually reprimanding them and their behaviour did not seem to have changed radically in the final act. Luckily, I was able to angle my head in such a way that it didn't bother me too much - I hope the other audience members affected by it were able to do the same.

 

Overall, it didn't marr my experience of the performance too much - however, interaction with distasteful individuals did put a significant dampener on my experience. It's a great shame that an entertainment venue as iconic as the Royal Opera House seems to have more than its fair share of repugnant audience members, who seem to be entirely ignorant of common courtesy.

 

Edited January 30, 2022 by art_enthusiast

[Shade]

So sorry to hear of your experience art. I was in the amphi and a couple in front were also leaning forward. The very muscular man in the seat beside me politely asked them not to - and they complied. I suspect they didn’t want to argue with him!
 

At first interval the usher reminded audience members not to lean forward - that helped.

 

But I was also shocked to see people bringing in glasses of wine into the auditorium and drinking during the performance!
 

is there a different audience on a Saturday?

 

 

 

 

 

 

[LinMM]

What at ROH? Have they changed their policy on this then? I thought bringing drinks into auditorium was still banned there? I really hope this policy hasn’t changed. 

[Guest oncnp]

2 minutes ago, LinMM said:

What at ROH? Have they changed their policy on this then? I thought bringing drinks into auditorium was still banned there? I really hope this policy hasn’t changed. 

No policy change but in my experience, no ushers to enforce it

[Lizbie1]

The policy is the same I believe, but I'm not sure there are enough ushers to police it and the people in question might not realise drinks aren't allowed.

[Lizbie1]

1 minute ago, oncnp said:

No policy change but in my experience, no ushers to enforce it

 

Snap!

[Sim]

24 minutes ago, LinMM said:

What at ROH? Have they changed their policy on this then? I thought bringing drinks into auditorium was still banned there? I really hope this policy hasn’t changed. 

During one of the shows on Saturday a woman in Row A of the stalls circle, just in front of where I was standing, kept switching her mobile on and at one point took a photo.  I tutted at her a couple of times.  Then after the first interval when the ballet was going on, the usher leaned in and spoke quite sternly to her...her friend handed over a half-empty glass of bubbly, and this woman downed hers and handed him her empty glass.  They didn't come back for Act 3...  So at least there the usher did his job well.

 

Arts_Enthusiast I have had too many similar incidents over the years to list them all here, but sadly no matter where you go there is always one.  I am very glad it didn't mar your enjoyment of the ballet.

[RHowarth]

I think part of the issue with people leaning forward is that it is actively encouraged in many West End theatres. Tickets are sold with the instruction 'restricted view, lean forward' or similar. I'm sure that around 20 years ago, the ROH sold some seats on the same basis, and that overall there's a lingering perception that it's an OK thing to do, with little understanding that it can almost completely obscure the view of those behind you.

[Shade]

Sim that is shocking

[alison]

5 hours ago, RHowarth said:

I think part of the issue with people leaning forward is that it is actively encouraged in many West End theatres. Tickets are sold with the instruction 'restricted view, lean forward' or similar. I'm sure that around 20 years ago, the ROH sold some seats on the same basis, and that overall there's a lingering perception that it's an OK thing to do, with little understanding that it can almost completely obscure the view of those behind you.

 

They did, although I'd have said it was maybe 10 years ago.  It didn't last long - perhaps there were too many complaints?

[Meetmeatthebarre]

6 hours ago, Lizbie1 said:

The policy is the same I believe, but I'm not sure there are enough ushers to police it and the people in question might not realise drinks aren't allowed.

 

Agreed, if someone is new to the ROH it might not be immediately obvious - especially as e.g. the Coliseum and Sadlers permit both drinks and snacks. The short intervals during R&J probably don't help either - if you haven't pre-ordered, you probably won't be served much earlier than the bell to mark the next acts!

 

I once saw a person with fried chicken in the lower slips and the smell permeated exactly as you'd expect. But they were so young and talking so excitedly about how happy they were to be at the ROH for the first time that I just didn't have the heart to speak to them... 

[Sim]

6 hours ago, Shade said:

Sim that is shocking

A shocking waste of rose champagne!! 

 

[MJW]

7 hours ago, Sim said:

During one of the shows on Saturday a woman in Row A of the stalls circle, just in front of where I was standing, kept switching her mobile on and at one point took a photo.  I tutted at her a couple of times.  Then after the first interval when the ballet was going on, the usher leaned in and spoke quite sternly to her...her friend handed over a half-empty glass of bubbly, and this woman downed hers and handed him her empty glass.  They didn't come back for Act 3...  So at least there the usher did his job well.

 

Arts_Enthusiast I have had too many similar incidents over the years to list them all here, but sadly no matter where you go there is always one.  I am very glad it didn't mar your enjoyment of the ballet.

 

Clearly the announcement at the start of each act on Saturday not to film or take photos fell on deaf ears. I did have to ask someone to switch off their mobile at the start of a Nutcracker in 2020 - and thankfully he did -  rather than ignore or abuse me!

[LinMM]

Are there any signs up about not taking food and drink into the auditorium these days? I can’t remember seeing any last time I was there come to think of it. 

[Shade]

what extravagance Sim and  cheek handing the glasses to the usher- as if they were a waiter! 

Edited January 31, 2022 by Shade
Addition

[TSR101]

Given the price of a glass of champagne (now £18 for a mere Moet - standards are slipping), its far more shocking to hand over a half full glass than to down it. I certainly would drink up myself if I was in their situation. I am quite sad if the couple mentioned, for relatively minor indiscretions, felt so uncomfortable that they felt they had to leave before Act 3. 

 

Whilst I have had annoying people on the phone (one spent an entire opera scrolling through the pictures on his phone whilst sitting in a three figure seat in the stalls what a waste in every sense!) I can't help but feel some of the comments here are a bit harsh.

[bangorballetboy]

5 hours ago, TSR101 said:

(now £18 for a mere Moet - standards are slipping)

 

£15 for Moët (brut NV), £18 for Ruinart (brut NV)

[bridiem]

5 hours ago, TSR101 said:

Given the price of a glass of champagne (now £18 for a mere Moet - standards are slipping), its far more shocking to hand over a half full glass than to down it. I certainly would drink up myself if I was in their situation. I am quite sad if the couple mentioned, for relatively minor indiscretions, felt so uncomfortable that they felt they had to leave before Act 3. 

 

Whilst I have had annoying people on the phone (one spent an entire opera scrolling through the pictures on his phone whilst sitting in a three figure seat in the stalls what a waste in every sense!) I can't help but feel some of the comments here are a bit harsh.

 

But you're implying that their comfort is more important than complying with ROH rules (which are announced repeatedly) and the comfort/enjoyment of other audience members. I agree it's sad if they left because they were reprimanded; but a better reaction would have been to apologise and reflect.

[zxDaveM]

12 hours ago, Shade said:

  cheek handing the glasses to the usher- as if they were a waiter! 

 

the usher probably asked for them, as if they were left with those patrons they would certaibly have been put down on the floor, and subsequently knocked over. And the sound of a glass (or a beer bottle) rolling around and/or breaking on those wooden floors can be resounding. Also, nothing wrong with being a waiter

[Sim]

8 hours ago, TSR101 said:

Given the price of a glass of champagne (now £18 for a mere Moet - standards are slipping), its far more shocking to hand over a half full glass than to down it. I certainly would drink up myself if I was in their situation. I am quite sad if the couple mentioned, for relatively minor indiscretions, felt so uncomfortable that they felt they had to leave before Act 3. 

 

Whilst I have had annoying people on the phone (one spent an entire opera scrolling through the pictures on his phone whilst sitting in a three figure seat in the stalls what a waste in every sense!) I can't help but feel some of the comments here are a bit harsh.

I think when someone is repeatedly switching on their mobile phone when being asked not to several times, then drinking (I don’t care if it’s water or wine) from glasses, then holding their phone up and taking a photo, that it’s entirely right that they should be asked to behave in a way that’s considerate to those around them.  They must have felt unable to do this, so didn’t come back.  I wouldn’t think it was because they were reprimanded;  the usher was very polite…it was hardly a reprimand. 

[Shade]

Surely very entitled behaviour. I have not been to ROH since November and would have been v upset if my visit had been disturbed as described above. Perhaps they left for other reasons!

[LinMM]

Totally agree Bridiem and Sim 

Yes perhaps they left because in the end they weren’t actually interested in the ballet!! 

Edited February 1, 2022 by LinMM