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Standing Ovations
This occurred to me last night (June 24) at the SF Opera's production of Porgy and Bess: When is a standing ovation proper? I've wondered about this forever. Last night, some people, eager to get out of the parking lot, no doubt, fled during the first ovation. They stood, but not for the performnance. There was a scattering of people who stood, but most didn't. During the second ovation, there were a few more standees and a couple of "Bravas" and "Bravos," but most everyone in my section sat. Of course, in my section, there were lots of ancients, and I don't expect these people would stand for anything. Further back, among the younger set, there were quite a lot more standees.
Anyway, there it is.
And one more thing: I've heard that SFS audiences are more generous with Standing O's than the opera. If true, why is that?
Anyway, there it is.
And one more thing: I've heard that SFS audiences are more generous with Standing O's than the opera. If true, why is that?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Ron Borden on -
A satanding ovation at the end of the entire work is always appropriate if the work is outstandingly performed. Some people have to leave before the ovation to catch transportation or to get enough sleep before work the next day.
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Permalink Reply by Ron Borden on
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Sorry for the typo. I meant standing.
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Permalink Reply by Walt Arnstein on -
Your "misspelling" ("satan-ding") may actually be appropriate for performances of "Faust" and "Mefistofele". Also possibly Stravinsky's L'Histoire du Soldat :-)
As to the propriety of standing, I agree fully. Even us "ancients" (I am 77) are capable of standing and even clapping while shouting Bravo, Brava or Bravissimi -- as the case may be -- at the same time.
Walt
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Permalink Reply by Barnaby Thieme on -
In general questions of audience etiquette seem highly charged ... people want to do the appropriate thing, and a strong signal of what constitutes an appropriate response is watching what people around you do. Perhaps because of that, I think the standing ovation is in danger of becoming a perfunctory gesture by the good-natured audience. I think it remains important to judge for one's self if a performance is truly outstanding.
I recently attended a performance in which a key passage was badly botched by a section that was quite out of unison, and I was surprised to see it receive a standing ovation. /shrug/
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