Guardian columnist Tom Service growls at audience members who break the silence following the final chord in a piece of music:But it was a moment of dizzying collective rapture that was all too predictably ruined by some eejit in the Royal Festival Hall shouting "bravi!" – from one of the boxes, I'm pretty sure – before any of us, including the orchestra, had the chance to come down to earth again. There is no greater musical violence an audience member can commit than to scar this unique moment, when time seems to stop still at the end of a great performance, with a selfish, solo shout.
In San Francisco my experience is that audiences are sometimes so worried about clapping at the wrong time that sometimes they don't get around to applauding at all, especially if the first piece in a program has been short. There have been a few times when the chorus has had to rearrange during an awkward silence. I've sometimes had to prepare a claque to deal with this.
h/t 2nd Altos Like the Bottom Parts. Clip art licensed from the Clip Art Gallery on DiscoverySchool.com
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