Fed up with people making noise at classical shows

People go to performances of classical music for a variety of reasons. Many of us are very serious about music and Devilboy's comment regarding the emotional investment is right on target. We are fully absorbed by the music on an emotional and intellectual level. People making unnecessary noise at a concert is pretty much like people making a racket in a library where people are trying to read or study. It just simply distracts and detracts from the experience, and at its extreme, a single offender can ruin the experience for hundreds of people. My wife and I have decided not to attend on nights when one of us had a cold, for fear that we could not properly control our coughing. For the record, my wife does not wear perfume, for those who might have been wondering about that. We are middle age, and have been attending concerts since our youth. My attitude and expectations about appropriate concert etiquette have not fundamentally changed since I was in my twenties. My wife and I are not snobs. We just love the music.

I remember the overwhelming emotions associated with my first concert experiences of The Swan of Tuonela, Janacek's Sinfonietta, and the Rite of Spring. The right of Spring was ruined by a CEO who decided it would be good to stage a bunch of people hooting and hollering with cat calls in an effort to emulate the first performance in Paris. I was not amused or entertained. The experience was ruined, and I can't get that one back.

For other people, attending a symphony concert is just a diversion, perhaps a guy who is trying to find something different to do for an evening with his overly perfumed wife. Its just something to do. That is great, and I certainly welcome those folks. Please, just don't ruin it for others.

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There are two types of distractions, those that can be controlled and those that can't.

....Coughing and sneezing; hard to imagine somebody would do that on purpose. When you have a large group of people it is inevitable that somebody will cough or sneeze. It is just something you have to endure.

....cell phones, talking, etc. are controllable and unforgivable. The lady that sits in front of me at the symphony brings a very bright LED flashlight and reads the program during the performance. It is very annoying.

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The cell phone incident even made CNN:
http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/12/us/new-york-symphony-philharmonic-flap/index.html

Cell phones are getting out of hand. My wife, daughter and I were at an Appleby's a couple of weeks ago and two young ladies (not teens) at the table behind me were carrying on a conversation on a cell phone WITH IT ON SPEAKERPHONE.

It was alluded to above but most classical performance audiences are older and, theoretically, more susceptible to illness. Yes, it's aggravating but, like it or not, this is the demographic that is keeping the orchestras in business.

I have allergies and I find perfume as irritating as cigarette smoke. I may be biased but I think all fragrances should be illegal (like that's ever gonna happen!). I've learned to take an allergy tablet before going to places likely to be full of irritating fragrances.

Also, concert etiquette has to be learned. The best way to do that is to start taking our kids to concerts early and teach them.

Think I'll stick with Tool concerts. :-)

When YOU pay for everyones tickets, then maybe they should be quiet. If not stay home. I love inviting my redneck friends to the Opera, then sit about 6 rows behind them, and wait for one of them to bellow out "let's hear some Hank"!