# Shut up with your damn coughing!



## Aramis (Mar 1, 2009)




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## Rasa (Apr 23, 2009)

In my lodge in the opera, there is this old couple (like 90 years old), and EVERY time they have these slimey rumbling coughs straight through the music. It's cuts through the music, and it smells digusting.

Extremely distatestful, especially because they always choose moments where it's best heard. I motion for a ban....


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## Delicious Manager (Jul 16, 2008)

Bravo!! If only more artists would do such things. So many performances are ruined by thoughtless people with seemingly terminal bronchial conditions. If they're that ill, they should stay away instead of spoiling the concert for AND spreading their germs to others in the audience.

Of course, people with digital watch alarms which go off and mobile phones that ring should simply be shot on the spot!


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## SuperTonic (Jun 3, 2010)

If you have a cough and you must go to a concert, just bring a pocketfull of cough drops. They usually do the trick. I've been to concerts where the ushers actually had a bucket of them for anyone to use.

Of course, that brings up the problem of unwrapping them, which can be distracting as well, although not as bad as coughing.


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## emiellucifuge (May 26, 2009)

Thank god that in halls such as the concertgebouw the sound of a cough is masked (maybe the acoustics?), but in the opera house here i realised yesterday how much i wanted to slap old ladies.


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## Norse (May 10, 2010)

I once sat through a whole performance of Brahms Requiem right next to a guy that had a "whistling nose" the entire concert. I actually ended up putting a finger in the ear closest to him, in hopes that as much music and as little nose whistling as possibly would reach the other one. It kinda worked.

I can usually deal with some minor caughing here and there, especially in loud sections of the music, but some people will just cough as loudly as they please in the most quiet and "sensitive" moments in the music. I remember in a piano encore (I think it was Leif Ove Andsnes playing Shumann), the music reaches a pause in a very heartfelt, quiet section, and in the middle of the pause, some guy coughs loudly. It was like he was waiting for the worst moment.. Well done, you magnificent *******!


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## Petwhac (Jun 9, 2010)

I hate the coughers especially the ones who don't even try to suppress it. They are [email protected]*rds.
If you're that sick stay at home!!
Almost as bad are the idiots who like to show the world how well educated they are because they know when a piece is over. They can't wait to jump to their feet and shout "bravo" before the last chord has even decayed to silence.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

Petwhac said:


> Almost as bad are the idiots who like to show the world how well educated they are because they know when a piece is over. They can't wait to jump to their feet and shout "bravo" before the last chord has even decayed to silence.


Now that's the one that gets me. Wait till the music is over.

Also hate curtain calls in between acts, and worst of all, in between scenes. Let's complete stuff up any suspension of disbelief.


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

Now see, that's one advantage of liking rock music. You can't hear any coughing at a rock concert -- and often not much of anything for several days afterward. Of course you sometimes have to worry about people throwing up on your shoes.


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## Petwhac (Jun 9, 2010)

Weston said:


> Now see, that's one advantage of liking rock music. You can't hear any coughing at a rock concert -- and often not much of anything for several days afterward. Of course you sometimes have to worry about people throwing up on your shoes.


Yeah? Well I'm a great Stevie Wonder fan and was at one of his (unfortunately large arena) concerts a couple of years ago.
Not only were some people actually talking on their phones during the concert (plebs), but the guy next to me was drunk and started singing along to 'Lately'.
Now... Stevie W is for me one of the greatest vocalists of all time and I love the song. Imagine how I felt after paying £100 a ticket and travelling 100 miles to hear some tone deaf drunken philistine drowning out the Man.

I decided then, never again would I go to a big gig , not if I cared about the music.
I believe most people go to those type of stadium/arena gigs just to say "I was there" and couldn't really care less about the music.

People HUH!!


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## rgz (Mar 6, 2010)

Weston said:


> Now see, that's one advantage of liking rock music. You can't hear any coughing at a rock concert -- and often not much of anything for several days afterward. Of course you sometimes have to worry about people throwing up on your shoes.


Electronic music can be even worse  Loudest show I've ever been to was Orbital. Forgot my ear plugs at home and the music was literally painful. Great time 

I've often thought that if Mozart had been born today, he'd be making electro instead of writing operas ... but that's a tangent for another thread


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## karenpat (Jan 16, 2009)

never been really bothered by people coughing at concerts - but at this one violin recital three people behind me became really annoying. To start with they talked loudly about one of them having played in an orchestra once and kept their conversation going after the lights were down and the conductor had entered the podium. Fortunately the applause drowned their voices a little so it wasn't audible to the whole audience, but after the applause while the conductor was preparing the first orchestral number, I heard one very loud voice right behind me: "What instrument did you say you were playing?" I was embarrassed on their behalf... They didn't talk more during the performance although one of the men seemed to have a lung condition, he was wheezing all the time, it sometimes sounded like snoring. However at one point I turned sideways enough to see in the corner of my eyes if he was sleeping and he was not.:lol: I suppose he couldn't help it but it was still a little distracting. Luckily the violinist that night, Henning Kraggerud, thinks it important to abandon the "strict" rules of a classical audience. He once said he'd want people to throw tomatoes at him if they didn't like it, as long as they didn't just sit there passively.


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## Petwhac (Jun 9, 2010)

rgz said:


> I've often thought that if Mozart had been born today, he'd be making electro instead of writing operas ...


I seriously doubt that!


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## wagner4evr (Jul 10, 2010)

Is that Kurwenal! He! from Tristan by chance?

It's a good thing, for their sake, that no cougher was seated next to us during Tristan. I'd have gone from 0 to Hannibal Lecter in 3.1sec; they'd have been spreadeagle on the curtain :lol: I love Furtwanger's Ring, but has anyone else noticed the incessant coughing in the background? Drives me crazy considering who's conducting, not to mention the cast.

You know what bug me even more than coughing though?

BAILERS! Those are the j***a**es that don't even applaud at curtain call, and then force you out of their way because they insist on getting to their cars before everyone else. Hate that.


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## Krummhorn (Feb 18, 2007)

I guess I've tuned out distractions like this when I'm playing a concert. Recently, I played an organ concert in Denmark and apparently there were audience noises during the program, which I didn't hear until after I got home and listened to the recording. Wonder if is the same for other performers? 

Now, when attending a concert, I am very annoyed by people talking, wheezing and such. At one live theater venue we like to attend at home, the general announcement before the play begins goes something like this: "If you need to unwrap any hard candy, please do it now!"

Of course, there is always some moron who's mobile phone rings ... and of course they let it ring and ring and ring and ring ... grrrr. 

Kh


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

Coughing has never bothered me that much - but I absolutely HATE people who bring babies and toddlers to concerts - very very distracting. I always turn my mobile phone to silent before the performance, seems most people do the same. I have only been to one concert where somebody's phone went off. I also hate people who talk while the music is playing - haven't experienced this often, but when it happens, it's really annoying...


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## jhar26 (Jul 6, 2008)

mamascarlatti said:


> Now that's the one that gets me. Wait till the music is over.
> 
> Also hate curtain calls in between acts, and worst of all, in between scenes. Let's complete stuff up any suspension of disbelief.


Between scenes is a bit too much because it needlessly interrupts the action. Between acts it doesn't bother me because at that point there's supposed to be a break anyway.


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## BalloinMaschera (Apr 4, 2011)

I am a bit on the fence on this one. I also enjoy a performance with as little as possible distraction (not emminating from the stage or pit) as anyone... HOWEVER...

it is important to ensure that concert or opera attendees, who are NOT familiar with unwritten audience etiquette feel comfortable and at ease... I'd rather someone enjoy their first opera performance as well as their candy, than not have that person go to the opera at all.

I was often taken to concerts and opera as a toddler, and I'm sure I was not always on my best behavior (I'm sure I often fell asleep, too) , but I am glad that I had the experiences.

Centuries ago, in the concert hall, applauding after movements, or even during pieces, was expected. Composers such as Beethoven ended first movements with potent cadences designed to incite applause. Brahms is reported to have complained about the lack of applause between movements when his Piano Concerto No. 1 premiered.

It was not until the later 20th century that the pervading customs of silence at all costs, appear to have been set.

Previously, it was acceptable (even expected) to play cards in the opera, chat with your neighbors, have a snack, or gamble with dice.

I've been to many-a performance with a cough, and tried to minimize my coughing (as did many people around me- remember, Opera season often coincides with flu season)... and it ain't always easy!

So I think we need to be careful about jumping on the high horse of morale and elitism. If the composer probably would not have minded a candy wrapper or two, why should anyone else ? 
My $ 0.02.

PS: when I purchase a "live" recording- I *want * to hear some audience noises... it gives me more of a feeling of having been there, too...


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## karenpat (Jan 16, 2009)

I was at a recital once and the man behind me sounded like he had a respiratory condition, he constantly uttered grunts and wheezes that sounded like snoring although he wasn't sleeping (I actually half turned around once to check). It was a strange situation and sounded pretty loud through the cello/piano from the stage.


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## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

And whatever would we do without those in the audience who seem to think that overtures were written to provide accompaniment for their idiotic blather? Of course, we're fortunate if they confine themselves to jabbering only during the overture. At a Met performance I attended several years ago, I had the misfortune of being seated next to a trio of blabbermouths who continued their whispered chattering even while the singers were performing. Evil looks from a gentleman seated in the row in front of us would only silence them for a stretch of about 10 minutes before the yacking would resume. Considering that el Guapo was one of the singers that evening, they're probably lucky to have made it out of Lincoln Center alive . . .  At several times during the course of the evening, I also had to fight to suppress a cough of my own, triggered by the overpoweringly sweet perfume with which at least one member of this trio had liberally doused herself before coming to the opera house.


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## Sieglinde (Oct 25, 2009)

My worst experience was (sitting in a loge) when a lady before me got up and went out to cough. This in the most exciting scene of Billy Budd. I was like: "Bitch, you come back and sit on your **** SILENTLY and QUICKLY before the pwnage or I'll punch you HARDER than Billy does with Claggart!"
She came back in time.  I was so afraid she'd block my sight at the worst moment.


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## samurai (Apr 22, 2011)

The jazz musician Keith Jarrett has been known to stop his performance to admonish the audience to make less noise. If this didn't work to his satisfaction, he would simply exit the stage and not return.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

The young and rather unwashed woman with the i-Phone, vodka bottle, plastic bottle of water, and juicy nectarines, all of which were noisily/brightly consumed during the second half of a recent performance of Xerxes in Auckland, is defenitely the worst behaved audience member I have ever sat next to. I'd have killed for a simple cougher.


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## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

mamascarlatti said:


> The young and rather unwashed woman with the i-Phone, vodka bottle, plastic bottle of water, and juicy nectarines, all of which were noisily/brightly consumed during the second half of a recent performance of Xerxes in Auckland, is defenitely the worst behaved audience member I have ever sat next to. I'd have killed for a simple cougher.


Yes, she definitely topped the Blabbermouth Trio and any other obstreperous audience members I've encountered over the years. Overpowering perfume is easier to endure than eau de unwashed body.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

MAuer said:


> ... Overpowering perfume is easier to endure than eau de unwashed body.


Last opera I was at in Berlin, the man sitting next to me kept farting. I knew it was him because he kept lifting up one cheek.  I don't know enough German to be able to say anything & in the end I got every single paper tissue & handkerchief out of my bag & clamped them over my nose & glared at him. He sort of smirked but he did stop.


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## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

sospiro said:


> Last opera I was at in Berlin, the man sitting next to me kept farting. I knew it was him because he kept lifting up one cheek.  I don't know enough German to be able to say anything & in the end I got every single paper tissue & handkerchief out of my bag & clamped them over my nose & glared at him. He sort of smirked but he did stop.


Oh . . . my . . . God.


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## Sieglinde (Oct 25, 2009)

And how about when Fasolt and Fafner sit before you and you can't see anything?


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## Dacha (May 4, 2011)

sospiro said:


> Last opera I was at in Berlin, the man sitting next to me kept farting. I knew it was him because he kept lifting up one cheek.  I don't know enough German to be able to say anything & in the end I got every single paper tissue & handkerchief out of my bag & clamped them over my nose & glared at him. He sort of smirked but he did stop.


Sospiro,

You dont need to speak german to slap someone. Specially when this "someone" is farting close to you. ;-)

I never been in a opera with someone farting or coughing, but I got a flight to Bali and it stopped in Dubai, where I guy remove his socks and stand it on his chair-table. Horrible scene.


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## delallan (Jan 4, 2011)

Yuck!!!! All of this thread makes me somewhat happier that it's a distance for me to go to see live opera. Watching MET player performances over my computer and in the ambiance of my home is tolerable; sitting beside a person 'farting' or behind an 'unwashed' woman drinking vodka is not!


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## Operafocus (Jul 17, 2011)

*An article I wrote on the subject:*

*Mobile phones and bodily functions at the opera*

Why is it that I haven't been to a single opera (or theatre piece, concert or cinema for that matter) in the past few years without at least one phone going off at some point - or having to sit next to someone couching or sneezing in my ear?

*Mobile phones*
The type of ringtone gives you an over-all idea who doesn't switch their phones off. That annoying, standard Nokia ringtone indicates someone who only has a mobile phone because they've been forced to, don't really use it, it never rings, they don't know how to switch it (or the sound) off, and no harm done. Trouble is, this is Sod's Law, so of course it rings. Because they don't really use their phone more than once a month, then they have to go looking for it in order to find it and find the right button to press it.

Then you have the loud iPhone sound that will belong to some (in their own head) super-important person who just cannot miss a call. Never mind the person in the middle of an aria up there, trying to convey deep emotion. This is also the person most likely to actually pick up the phone and go, _"Helloooo? I'm at the opera, can I call you back?"_

A recent example was when I was in a church listening to a St John Passion. Halfway through an iPhone ringtone that sounded like a fire siren went off, causing everyone to look around to see if we should leave. It stopped, so we stayed put. At the very end, after the soloists were done, the chorus had delivered their final piece, the conductor was pleased and turned around to get his applause - what surfaced in between that and the applause? That's right. The infamous Nokia ringtone. _Dudu-lulu-dudu-lulu-dudu-lululu._

The whole idea of not turning at least the sound of your mobile phone off is rude, selfish and disrespectful to the performers and the rest of the audience. If you can't live without your phone for three hours, then maybe you shouldn't be going to the opera at all.

Performers like Kevin Spacey has been known to stop mid-performance if a phone goes off and fire off a comment to the idiot whose phone is ringing. And ringing. And ringing. _"Tell them we're busy!"_ is one - whereas the threat to throw out the next person with a ringing phone might be more effective.

*Bodily functions*
I too realise that sometimes you have to sneeze and sometimes your throat tickles so badly you have to cough. I get it. However, does it have to be done so damn loud?

Most people over the age of four can control the volume of their sneezes by putting their face into the fold of their arm. Seriously. There is just no reason to ever go _aaaaaaaaatschaaaaaaah!!!_ in the most quiet, fragile moment of someone's performance. Show a little bit of finesse. You're at the opera. People are trying to do their jobs. The audience is trying to get dragged into what those individuals on the stage are doing. You're not sitting in front of your telly. Worth remembering.

The coughing. It seems to be an overall problem, especially after the first interval. People have had their cigarettes and their wine, and realise fairly quickly their throats are dry. This may sound like an impossible, revolutionary idea, but there's actually a cure for this. It's a thing called water. If you drink red wine, your throat gets dry and itchy. It's just how it is. Water, people. Water.

The last thing is smoking, which is - first of all - bad for you and - second of all - generally disgusting, but if you need to do it, at least bring either mints or a piece of gum back in with you. Sitting next to someone who stinks of nicotine and spends the next 45 minutes coughing in your ear at regular intervals is just… very annoying.

*What can I do to be less annoying at the opera?*
- Turn off your mobile phone - or if you don't know how to do that, leave it at home. You're not _that_ important.
- Bring a water bottle into the auditorium - or if you can't, bring something to soothe the throat, like mints or gum.
- Think volume if you need to sneeze - use a buffer. An arm works fine. We don't _all_ need to hear you, there's enough entertainment on the stage to please us.
- If you smoke, chew a mint and/or gum before returning to the auditorium because - newsflash - _you stink_.
- If you can't follow these simple rules, rent a DVD and stay at home.


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## amfortas (Jun 15, 2011)

Operafocus said:


> *What can I do to be less annoying at the opera?*
> - Turn off your mobile phone - or if you don't know how to do that, leave it at home. You're not _that_ important.
> - Bring a water bottle into the auditorium - or if you can't, bring something to soothe the throat, like mints or gum.
> - Think volume if you need to sneeze - use a buffer. An arm works fine. We don't _all_ need to hear you, there's enough entertainment on the stage to please us.
> ...


And the crinkling candy wrappers! *Please* don't forget the crinkling candy wrappers!


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## Sieglinde (Oct 25, 2009)

Just bring a water bottle anyway. A half-liter bottle can be put in a handbag (tiny bags are bad anyway: you need to put in glasses if you need them, opera glasses, tissues, a camera if you are to hunt down singers after performance, and TONS of other things if you happen to be a woman...)

As for candy: getting them out of their cover is LOUD!


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## Operafocus (Jul 17, 2011)

amfortas said:


> And the crinkling candy wrappers! *Please* don't forget the crinkling candy wrappers!


Oh God, yes, the candy wrappers!


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## amfortas (Jun 15, 2011)

Since we're venting . . .

_That's not music! That's just noise! And why do they have to play it so LOUD! Hey you kids, get off of my lawn!!!_

Sorry . . . a little off topic, but I do feel better now.


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## Operafocus (Jul 17, 2011)

amfortas said:


> Since we're venting . . .
> 
> _That's not music! That's just noise! And why do they have to play it so LOUD! Hey you kids, get off of my lawn!!!_
> 
> Sorry . . . a little off topic, but I do feel better now.


LMAO!!!

I'm wondering, though, if the person Vickers shouted at _did_ stop coughing...!


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

> Bring a water bottle into the auditorium


Think twice before offering this advice. At the last opera I was at once of the more annoying habits my neighbour demonstrated was sucking loudly and resonantly from plastic water bottles so that they collapsed and then gave off a triumphant crack as the air rushed back into them when she removed them from her lips. Worse than any cough.


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## Aramis (Mar 1, 2009)

It's also very unpleasant when you look aside and see that person sitting next to you is looking directly at you through binoculars so you look at him/her the same way and he/she is not that tough anymore but he/she rubs your boot with his/her boot which is all in mud so you do the same and when yo do it he/she smiles and suddenly hits you into the snout and you fall down and loose your hat which lands two steps from you. You stand up and try put it back but when you reach it he/she reaches for revolver and shot at your hat so it flies a few metres back, so you go there and again try to put it back on your head but he/she shots again and it repeats six times before he/she is out of bullets so you take you hat and calmly put it on you head. He/she didn't have time to reload the gun so you suddenly take out your revolver with much longer barrel and shot his/her hat off of his/her head and before it falls on the ground you shot it in the air so it flies even higher and you keep shooting at it and flies higher and further by every shot until you're out of bullets too and therefore he/she sees that you're tougher. But meanwhile the scene or two passed so it's not desired situation in opera - yet happens to us all so often. 

The other unpleasant opera behavior is when someone strikes a match on your braces to light his cigar.


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## amfortas (Jun 15, 2011)

Hey Aramis, pass it this way, dude! I wanna take a hit!


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

Aramis said:


> It's also very unpleasant when you look aside and see that person sitting next to you is looking directly at you through binoculars so you look at him/her the same way and he/she is not that tough anymore but he/she rubs your boot with his/her boot which is all in mud so you do the same and when yo do it he/she smiles and suddenly hits you into the snout and you fall down and loose your hat which lands two steps from you. You stand up and try put it back but when you reach it he/she reaches for revolver and *shot at your hat* so it flies a few metres back, so you go there and again try to put it back on your head but he/she shots again and it repeats six times before he/she is out of bullets so you take you hat and calmly put it on you head. He/she didn't have time to reload the gun so you suddenly take out your revolver with much longer barrel and shot his/her hat off of his/her head and before it falls on the ground you shot it in the air so it flies even higher and you keep shooting at it and flies higher and further by every shot until you're out of bullets too and therefore he/she sees that you're tougher. But meanwhile the scene or two passed so it's not desired situation in opera - yet happens to us all so often.
> 
> The other unpleasant opera behavior is when someone strikes a match on your braces to light his cigar.


What are you doing wearing a hat at the opera? How is the person sitting behind supposed to see? I'd shoot it off too.


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## Couchie (Dec 9, 2010)

mamascarlatti said:


> Think twice before offering this advice. At the last opera I was at once of the more annoying habits my neighbour demonstrated was sucking loudly and resonantly from plastic water bottles so that they collapsed and then gave off a triumphant crack as the air rushed back into them when she removed them from her lips. Worse than any cough.


Agree. Also even gum is not safe, some people chew gum as cows chew grass.


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## Aksel (Dec 3, 2010)

mamascarlatti said:


> What are you doing wearing a hat at the opera? How is the person sitting behind supposed to see? I'd shoot it off too.


Of course one wears a hat to the opera! La Cieca even posted about it a while back on Parterre:

From Emily Post's _Etiquette in Society, in Business, in Politics and at Home_


> Excepting a religious ceremonial, there is no occasion where greater dignity of manner is required of ladies and gentlemen both, than in occupying a box at the opera. For a gentleman especially no other etiquette is so exacting.
> 
> *In walking about in the foyer of the opera house, a gentleman leaves his coat in the box-or in his orchestra chair-but he always wears his high hat. The "collapsible" hat is for use in the seats rather than in the boxes, but it can be worn perfectly well by a guest in the latter if he hasn't a "silk" one. A gentleman must always be in full dress, tail coat, white waistcoat, white tie and white gloves whether he is seated in the orchestra or a box. He wears white gloves nowhere else except at a ball, or when usher at a wedding.
> *


Also, for the ladies:


> Hair ornaments always look well at a ball but are not especially appropriate (unless universally in fashion) on other occasions. A lady in a ball dress with nothing added to the head, looks a little like being hatless in the street. This sounds like a contradiction of the criticism of the vulgarian. But because a tiara is beautiful at a ball, or a spray of feathers, or a high comb, or another ornament, does not mean that all of these should be put on together and worn in a restaurant; which is just what the vulgarian would do. Whether, to wear a head-dress, however, depends not alone upon fashion but upon the individual. If the type of hair ornament at the moment in fashion is becoming, wear it, especially to balls and in a box at the opera. But if it is not becoming, don't.


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## waldvogel (Jul 10, 2011)

Ah... we went to Chicago to see Lohengrin. It's only the second time in my life that I've gotten the chance to see this wonderful opera. Sitting on my left was a nice old gentleman accompanied by, I assume, his granddaughter. The lights dimmed, the wonderful pianissimo sounds of the Prelude began...

And the old guy fell asleep.

Then he began to snore... at an unpredictable frequency, and quite loud.

What can I do? I gently moved my arm to occupy most of the armrest. It didn't work. Neither did moving forward to try to catch the granddaughter's attention. Rocking my body to the left had no affect. 

So I took my left knee and gave his knee a shove. That worked.

For about ten minutes, upon which he fell asleep and began to snore again.

So, just like it says on the medicine bottle, I repeated when necessary.

The problem was solved in Act II when grandpa and granddaughter exchanged seats...


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## waldvogel (Jul 10, 2011)

We went to see Handel's Messiah at a local church. During one of the most poignant arias of the entire oratorio, somebody (thankfully far away from us) let out a loud fart.

The aria - you guessed it - "He was despised".


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## dmg (Sep 13, 2009)

SuperTonic said:


> If you have a cough and you must go to a concert, just bring a pocketfull of cough drops. They usually do the trick. I've been to concerts where the ushers actually had a bucket of them for anyone to use.
> 
> Of course, that brings up the problem of unwrapping them, which can be distracting as well, although not as bad as coughing.


Not to mention the ungodly smell that fills the hall.


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## Bix (Aug 12, 2010)

This happened at a classical concert not a opera, but there is no other thread to put this in :tiphat:

After I'd been with my partner for a year I thought it an idea to take him to his first classical concert (yes I know, can you believe it) - so I booked tickets to go to the Symphony Hall in Birmingham for a evening's introductory guide to orchestral pieces with the City of Birmingham SO - Finlandia, Ma Vlast and the like.

We got seats in the choir so that we could see the goings on of the orchestra from the players point of view and all in all he enjoyed it very much, and I'm sure that had nothing to do with the following entertainment.......

_the row in front of us, four or five seats to the right an older lady during what she thinks is the end of a piece (but actually its a quieter part where the strings are quietly humming like in the finale of Tchaikovsky 6th) gets out a boiled sweet, starts to undo the wrapper to the annoyance of others around, the music finally ends with a brass and percussion *DAH DAH*, she jumps at the sudden increase in volume, the sweet shoots from her grasp, flies forward and pings someone nearer the front in the back of the head. Then all around us started a chorus of tutters, the older lady goes 'oooh i say' and her husband proceeds to chuckle whilst trumpeting from his backside_


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## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

The local opera company here in my hometown is currently in the middle of its 2011 season (actually wraps up at the end of the month). Prior to the beginning of each performance, a huge photo of a cell phone, accompanied by a message to please turn off such devices, is projected on the curtain, accompanied by a VERY LOUD sound of said device ringing. After about the third ring, I wanted to shout, "All right! We get the message!" But I guess one has to be just this obvious and obnoxious to obtain the desired result. (BTW, it is strictly forbidden to take food and drink into the auditorium here, as signs posted around the lobby warn patrons. I'm not certain what would happen if an opera- or concert-goer were to actually smuggle in a small bottle of water and take a sip.)

I'm happy to note that I have generally well-behaved people sitting around me -- no tobacco breath, no farting , no overpowering perfumes, no yacking during the performance, no loud coughing at inappropriate moments, no snoozing, no snoring, etc. And, yes, I'm counting my blessings!


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

Honestly, if like me you regard your cell phone as an inconvenient necessity that you need to have but hate, so that you rarely use it, a loud reminder to turn it off would be very useful.

I forgot yesterday at Harry Potter because there was no reminder, and it went off, wouldn't you know, just towards the end. Luckily the only other people in the cinema had spent the previous two hours loudly crackling candy and chip papers, so I didn't feel too bad.


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## TxllxT (Mar 2, 2011)

mamascarlatti said:


> Honestly, if like me you regard your cell phone as an inconvenient necessity that you need to have but hate, so that you rarely use it, a loud reminder to turn it off would be very useful.
> 
> I forgot yesterday at Harry Potter because there was no reminder, and it went off, wouldn't you know, just towards the end. Luckily the only other people in the cinema had spent the previous two hours loudly crackling candy and chip papers, so I didn't feel too bad.


Of course your ringtone is from some famous opera, isn't it?


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

TxllxT said:


> Of course your ringtone is from some famous opera, isn't it?


It would be, if I could work out how to put it on my phone. I tell you, I hate mobile phones.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Aramis said:


> You stand up and try put it back but when you reach it he/she reaches for revolver and shot at your hat so it flies a few metres back, so you go there and again try to put it back on your head but he/she shots again and it repeats six times before he/she is out of bullets so you take you hat and calmly put it on you head. He/she didn't have time to reload the gun so you suddenly take out your revolver with much longer barrel and shot his/her hat off of his/her head and before it falls on the ground you shot it in the air so it flies even higher and you keep shooting at it and flies higher and further by every shot until you're out of bullets too and therefore he/she sees that you're tougher. But meanwhile the scene or two passed so it's not desired situation in opera - yet happens to us all so often.


Conclusion - opera audiences in Poland are wild!


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## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

mamascarlatti said:


> It would be, if I could work out how to put it on my phone. I tell you, I hate mobile phones.


Same here. And it's a subject for another thread, so I won't get started about those individuals who feel compelled to use them to carry on very personal conversations in public -- or, worse yet, in the lavatory!!


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## Couchie (Dec 9, 2010)

MAuer said:


> Same here. And it's a subject for another thread, so I won't get started about those individuals who feel compelled to use them to carry on very personal conversations in public -- or, worse yet, in the lavatory!!


And people who TALK VERY LOUDLY ON THEIR PHONES ON THE BUS BECAUSE EVERYONE ON THE BUS IS VERY INTERESTED IN HEARING HALF OF YOUR VERY INTERESTING PHONE CONVERSATION!


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

Royal Opera House has just tweeted

*Tosca is screening at cinemas in the UK this weekend. Popcorn and #opera - an underestimated combination...*

Even in the cinema this is wrong.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

sospiro said:


> Royal Opera House has just tweeted
> 
> *Tosca is screening at cinemas in the UK this weekend. Popcorn and #opera - an underestimated combination...*
> 
> Even in the cinema this is wrong.


The older I get the less tolerant of noise I am. Last night at Anna Bolena the audience was pretty good (apart from the lady in front who must have got bored of "Coppia iniqua" because she started a running commentary until I kicked her seat) but there was an air-con fan that rattled the whole way through the performance. And it managed to irritate me.


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## kv466 (May 18, 2011)

Hey, I've been coughing all day!  Sickie

Guess I'd know better than to attend a concert in my current state. Best if you give it away in such a circumstance. Now, if you're a chronic pain in the butt who coughs because it's a bad habit...put 'em up against the wall!!


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## CountessAdele (Aug 25, 2011)

Hmm I'll have to remember all this when I go to the met in february! Right, don't get sick (if I do then take some cough medicine beforehand), no candy, no talking, and no air conducting. Wow you'd think people would know better.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

Even if I haven't got a cough, I suck a couple of these before I get to the opera house.

I don't suppose they're designed to be used as a preventative but I reckon two occasionally won't do me any harm.


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## Aramis (Mar 1, 2009)

sospiro said:


> I don't suppose they're designed to be used as a preventative but I reckon two occasionally won't do me any harm.


That's your choice but don't be surprised when one day you will leave performance with ears of hare growing on your head.


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## NightHawk (Nov 3, 2011)

I would bet a large sum that concert audiences today are better behaved, bathed and less noisily ill than they were in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Why is air conducting wrong?
[signed, a passionate air conductor]


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

Almaviva said:


> Why is air conducting wrong?
> [signed, a passionate air conductor]


Nat - a solution?

:devil:


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## AnaMendoza (Jul 29, 2011)

NightHawk said:


> I would bet a large sum that concert audiences today are better behaved, bathed and less noisily ill than they were in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries.


Yes, but what about cell phones?


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## Darkhawk (Jun 7, 2011)

I was at Don Giovanni at Opera Atelier in Toronto on Friday, and this woman sitting in front of me had this horrible, wet, smoker's cough that wouldn't stop. She finally got up and left, but not after ruining at least one good aria. It reminded me a bit of Atom Egoyan's "Inspired by Bach" entry, in which Don McKellar has to leave Yo-Yo's performance because of a debilitating cough.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

Hi Darkhawk & welcome back. Did you ever solve your Canada puzzle?


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## Yashin (Jul 22, 2011)

I think it is something that has been an issue for a long time, listen to an old Albanese and Di Stefano live recording of La Boheme and the audience is coughing more than Mimi!!

Now i love a glass of red during the interval -it always gives me a nice warm glow for the next act but i can't help get annoyed at the throat clearing that goes on for the next 5 minutes.

Audience noise is a plague that spreads from concert hall to cinemas. I guess you just have to relax and keep it out of your head. Easier said than done when you have waited months to see something or payed a lot for the ticket.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

It probably has to do with the season as well, like when the common cold or flu epidemics hit cities where operas are presented.


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## regressivetransphobe (May 16, 2011)

I'll never understood the kind of people who seem to idealize a sterile, uniform, inhuman environment ironed out of all reminders of biology. If hearing a cough chews away at your soul, feel free to leave Earth.


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## amfortas (Jun 15, 2011)

regressivetransphobe said:


> I'll never understood the kind of people who seem to idealize a sterile, uniform, inhuman environment ironed out of all reminders of biology. If hearing a cough chews away at your soul, feel free to leave Earth.


Um . . . welcome to the Opera Forum . . . I guess.


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## FragendeFrau (May 30, 2011)

The coughing during the Jonas Kaufmann recital at the Met was simply the worst I have ever heard--and I regularly attended opera in London in winter in the 1970s when just about everyone seemed to have bronchitis. It's not a cough that comes out of nowhere--the coughers in the JK audience had to know they were sick, so WHY didn't they bring cough drops!

It just astounds me that anyone who is suffering would attend a performance of any kind knowing that they are going to sound like they're coughing up their guts and not bring lozenges. Of course, we used to wish that some company like Ricola would become "official cough drop supplier" and have baskets of them next to the programs as you enter the hall!


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## AnaMendoza (Jul 29, 2011)

FragendeFrau said:


> The coughing during the Jonas Kaufmann recital at the Met was simply the worst I have ever heard--and I regularly attended opera in London in winter in the 1970s when just about everyone seemed to have bronchitis. It's not a cough that comes out of nowhere--the coughers in the JK audience had to know they were sick, so WHY didn't they bring cough drops!
> 
> It just astounds me that anyone who is suffering would attend a performance of any kind knowing that they are going to sound like they're coughing up their guts and not bring lozenges. Of course, we used to wish that some company like Ricola would become "official cough drop supplier" and have baskets of them next to the programs as you enter the hall!


That's exactly how I discovered Ricola. There _were_ baskets of them in the lobby, as I went in to the Pacific Opera. Very valuable, and they acquired at least one serious customer.

I need a way to combine two threads here. Should I go to Satyagraha on Saturday if I still have a bad cough?


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## amfortas (Jun 15, 2011)

AnaMendoza said:


> I need a way to combine two threads here. Should I go to Satyagraha on Saturday if I still have a bad cough?


Only if you can cough repeatedly, with minor variations, throughout the entire opera.


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## AnaMendoza (Jul 29, 2011)

amfortas said:


> Only if you can cough repeatedly, with minor variations, throughout the entire opera.


Oh, I can do THAT in my sleep! Come to think of it, I did, last night.


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## Siedler (Aug 3, 2011)

Even worse is people talking during the performance. Happened some weeks ago when I saw Boris Godunov at FNO and a group of young people kept whispering for a while during the quiet passage of the opera. I gave them an angry look and they got the clue, luckily. 
Last summer attended a performance of Aïda at Arena di Verona festival. I think it was during the triumphal march when the people started to clap for the sets and there were a thunder of angry shushing (well deserved, gotta love the Italians! :lol.

But all of this applies the movie theatres as well (well ok, not clapping but talking during the film, yes).


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

Siedler said:


> Even worse is people talking during the performance. Happened some weeks ago when I saw Boris Godunov at FNO and a group of young people kept whispering for a while during the quiet passage of the opera. I gave them an angry look and they got the clue, luckily.


That's never happened to me thank goodness, but an old guy (& therefore should have known better) started singing along during Faust at ROH. He was sitting right behind me & I swung around to glare at him with such force, the person sitting next to me jumped. :lol:



Siedler said:


> Last summer attended a performance of Aïda at Arena di Verona festival.


How fabulous. I'd love to go there one day.


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## kv466 (May 18, 2011)

I've got bad habit cough...meaning, I seem to be coughing all the time but put me in a wedding situation or an opera or concert or a small office and suddenly it's gone...so, I have to attribute it to some sort of bad habit, I reckon. Years or smoking, what can I say...


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## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

sospiro said:


> That's never happened to me thank goodness, but an old guy (& therefore should have known better) started singing along during Faust at ROH. He was sitting right behind me & I swung around to glare at him with such force, the person sitting next to me jumped. :lol:


I love it!! Wish you'd been with me when I was stuck next to the Blabbermouth Trio at JK's Met debut.


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## notreally (Oct 25, 2011)

This Sunday I attended a _Tosca_ and during the final Tosca-Cavaradossi duet in the last act someone's phone started ringing
and he/she couldn't switch it off for 2 minutes.


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## amfortas (Jun 15, 2011)

notreally said:


> This Sunday I attended a _Tosca_ and during the final Tosca-Cavaradossi duet in the last act someone's phone started ringing
> and he/she couldn't switch it off for 2 minutes.


I've never believed in capital punishment.

Now I'm not so sure.


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