I’ve been fortunate enough to attend countless classical performances over the years in a variety of concert halls, philharmonic orchestras, conservatories, and opera and ballet theaters. Ranging from the epic (such as the Nutcracker) to the intimate (like the talented young soloists who perform at conservatories), I’ve had my fair share of classical music experiences. And it has been absolutely glorious.
Unfortunately, not everyone interacts with these concerts in the same way. Often, there are often audience members who don’t show the necessary respect to those on stage. Sometimes, these etiquette violations by a few – or even just one – audience member can sour the enjoyment for everyone else. Here are a few instances of people being unintentionally disrespectful:Â
1. Using Your Phone
Often, someone’s phone will ring loudly or ping with text messages during a show. As annoying and as disruptive as this can be, the person usually turns off their phone quickly.Â
However, that doesn’t always happen. I remember a woman who spent the entirety of a soloist’s performance on Facebook. She also had her device on the brightest possible screen setting. Imagine one bright screen in the middle of a small, dim room. She kept scrolling through pictures, messaging people, and trying to crop the photos she’d taken in the entrance hall to post online. I couldn’t exactly ignore her, as she was seated right in front of me. When I tried to close my eyes to ignore her and get lost in the music, the phone’s brightness infiltrated past my eye sockets. It was a rough 2 hours.Â
2. Loud Eating
As it so happens, the candy wrapper situation happened in the same venue. I suppose when a concert takes place in a smaller room, unwelcome sounds from the audience are only amplified. That didn’t make it any less annoying, though.
During this concert, a group of older people really seemed to love their candy. Throughout the performance, I would hear the very obvious crunching and crinkling of wrappers on and off. This definitely did not harmonize well with the string quartet on stage. While there’s nothing wrong with bringing a small snack to a performance, you should be mindful about the noises you make. They could have avoided most of the noises if they had unwrapped the candies beforehand and kept them in tissue paper instead. But I suppose that is too much forethought to ask for.Â
3. Snoring
Honest to God, I’ve heard snoring behind me at a concert before. Again, if the performance had a full orchestra, the music would have covered the sounds of someone taking a nap. Alas, it was yet another chamber music concert.Â
At first, I thought I’d imagining the sound. But as the concert progressed, the snoring only became louder. At some point, I think someone nudged this person and awoken them, because I heard that sharp intake of breath shortly after. After a bit of grumbling, the snores officially disappeared.Â
My goal in sharing these incidents is not to shame those who may have accidentally been the loud or distracting audience member in the crowd. Rather, I want us to remember to be considerate of other people. This is especially true for the professionals who put their time and effort to deliver quality music to us.Â
We spend money on tickets to see these performances, so why not give them our utmost attention? Being mindful of our environment at all times is a collective decision the audience must make to ensure that everyone enjoys the show.
Featured image via Wan San Yip on Unsplash
