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A Few More Thoughts on Applause: Why Can We Interrupt at the Met?

I have been having a wonderful time going to hear opera – this year at the Met, the thrill of an unforgettable Tristan and Isolde, a beautiful – and new to me – Thais by Massenet, and a deeply touching Eugene Onegin. During the Tchaikovsky I realized that the audience expectation and behavior is the complete opposite of what we are used to in the concert hall. At the end of virtually every aria, there was wild applause, which often had little to do with the actual action on stage and certainly no connection to the story line.

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Disney Hall

It is a real challenge for anything that is awaited with great anticipation to actually live up to the excitement. After the thrill of performing in the new Disney Hall, I can only say that for me, it has surpassed all my expectations. In the most exhilarating way, it inspires awe without forcing us to be reverent.

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When to Applaud

All of us love applause, and so we should – it means that the listener LIKES us! So we should welcome applause whenever it comes. And yet, we seem to have set up some very arcane rules as to when it is actually OK to applaud. I have been trying to find out exactly when certain listeners and performers decided that applause between movements would not be “allowed”, or at least would be frowned upon, but nobody seems to have been willing to admit that they were the culprit.

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Next Concerts

    September 11, 2026

    Lincoln Symphony

    Lied Center for Performing Arts

    COPLAND Fanfare for the Common Man and
    TYLER WHITE A Fivescore Festival: 100 Measures for 100 Years
    MOZART Overture to Le nozze di Figaro
    LISZT Les Préludes
    MOZART Piano Concerto No. 22, K.482

    September 16, 2026

    Recital

    Yale University School of Music

    R. SCHUMANN Papillons
    SCHUBERT Four Impromptus, D. 935
    CHOPIN Polonaise-fantaisie in A-flat Major
    CHOPIN Barcarolle in F-sharp Major, Op. 60
    CHOPIN Nocturnes, Op. 27
    CHOPIN Scherzo No. 2 in B-flat Minor

    September 18, 2026

    Boston Symphony Orchestra

    Symphony Hall

    MOZART Piano Concerto No. 22, K.482
    BERLIOZ Symphonie fantastique

    with Andris Nelsons, conductor

    September 19, 2026

    Boston Symphony Orchestra

    Symphony Hall

    MOZART Piano Concerto No. 22, K.482
    BERLIOZ Symphonie fantastique

    with Andris Nelsons, conductor

    September 25, 2026

    Munich Philharmonic

    Isarphilharmonie

    MENDELSSOHN BARTHOLDY Overture to “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” Op. 21
    MOZART Piano Concerto in E-flat major, K. 482
    ZEMLINSKY “The Mermaid,” Fantasy for Orchestra

    with Ryan Bancroft, conductor

    September 26, 2026

    Munich Philharmonic

    Isarphilharmonie

    MENDELSSOHN BARTHOLDY Overture to “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” Op. 21
    MOZART Piano Concerto in E-flat major, K. 482
    ZEMLINSKY “The Mermaid,” Fantasy for Orchestra

    with Ryan Bancroft, conductor

    October 1, 2026

    Orchestre National de France

    Maison de la Radio et de la Musique

    MOZART Don Giovanni Overture
    MOZART Piano Concerto No. 2
    SCRIABIN Symphony No. 2

    with Paavo Järvi, conductor

    October 4, 2026

    Musiciens de l’Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France

    Maison de la Radio et de la Musique

    ERNŐ DOHNÁNYI Sérénade opus 10
    R. SCHUMANN Quatuor avec piano

    with Ji-yoon Park, violin; Nicolas Garrigues, viola; and Renaud Guieu, cello

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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Piano Concerto in D minor, performed by the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra and Emanuel Ax under the baton of Chief Conductor Alan Gilbert. A recording from March 28th, 2025 from the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg.