Standing ovations for everything?

[Mergath]

Not exactly a life-or-death topic of great importance, but I was curious about what everyone else thinks about it. ;)

 

Dd and I spent the afternoon at the symphony today. It's a regional orchestra made up of adult musicians that does multiple performances every year, so they're usually reasonably good. I don't know what was going on today, but oh my god, were they awful. I guess they were having an off day. I'm pretty sure one of the french horns was drunk.  :lol:  Their timing was terrible, half the violins sounded out of tune, and the cellos went through an entire half a movement completely out of sync... Not their best performance. They seemed to know it, too. There was a lot of wincing going on up there, and red faces. 

 

I applauded at the end, of course, but everyone else gave them a standing ovation. (We did too in the end, 'cause peer pressure.) I've always thought standing ovations are for when a performance is really stunning, but thinking back, every performance I've attended over the last few years ended with the audience giving one. 

 

I know, it's not like it's so hard to stand up and clap. But how do you show a performer they've done a truly outstanding job if just walking onto a stage means you get a standing ovation at the end? 

 

Am I just super mean? (Um, maybe don't answer that, lol.)

 

Thoughts?

[MFG]

I think your observation is correct. I attribute it to the " Everyone Gets a Trophy" mentality.

[Guest]

I only give standing ovations when I'm deeply moved. Otherwise I just sit and clap and refuse the peer pressure.

[catz]

I agree with you! Was it an ametuer, volunteer symphony? I actually see more standing Os for community groups and theater than professional. I was at a traveling professional ballet yesterday and a few people stood but not everyone. I don't mind over the top at community theater, bands, etc nearly as much as I would at a poorly done professional production. Where we are some community done stuff does rival the professionals.

 

Eta. Maybe the audience was drunk? ;)

Edited December 6, 2015 by WoolySocks

[alisoncooks]

Perhaps the ovation was more of a "Good on ya for sticking it out to the end cause that was rough!"

[zoobie]

Everyone was happy it was over?

[Mergath]

I agree with you! Was it an ametuer, volunteer symphony? I actually see more standing Os for community groups and theater than professional. I was at a traveling professional ballet yesterday and a few people stood but not everyone. I don't mind over the top at community theater, bands, etc nearly as much as I would at a poorly done professional production. Where we are some community done stuff does rival the professionals.

 

Eta. Maybe the audience was drunk? ;)

 

I think it's pretty much everyone in the county who can play an instrument reasonably well, lol. Kind of an assortment of pros, amateurs, etc. They've been performing together for seven years now. 

 

I really didn't mind the standing ovation. It's more that it made me think about it and wonder if it's like grade inflation for musicians. :P

[Mergath]

Everyone was happy it was over?

 

:lol:  :lol:  :lol:

 

That could very well have been it.

[Jan in SC]

I think standing ovations are very common. I don't mind standing at community theatre/concerts or youth events. I think they are worth encouraging for the time and effort involved. If someone is truly outstanding in those settings, I make a point of finding the person and telling them.

 

I only give standing ovations at the professional events I truly enjoy. There are some productions, even on Broadway, that make me want to run out of the building as soon as the curtain call is finished.

[Plink]

We're there mixed ages in the group? I've noticed more standing ovations for anything performed by kids/teens.

 

I have seen the sympathetic standing ovation too, and it strikes me as making a bad performance even more embarrassing. Performers know when we've done well and when you are running to your car to gasp over our mistakes. Don't lie and say "great performance," stick with "beautiful solo" or, if necessary, "I love your shoes."

[HS Mom in NC]

Yes, around here people get a standing ovation for everything.  I find it annoying. I attend several city symphony performances and a live theater event or two a year.  I think applause at regular performances is enough encouragement for the effort the musicians made.  I think standing ovations should be saved for the very best performances that stand head and shoulders above regular performances, otherwise standing ovations will continue to be meaningless.  We don't need more meaningless nonsense in life.

I think it's a combination of peer pressure, everybody gets a trophy, and the tendency to hyperbole that saturates our culture.  No, that burger isn't amazing, it's just really tasty.  No, that movie wasn't awesome, it was very good.  No, that quilt I made isn't unbelievable, it's just very nice.  Unlike my mother, I don't correct it when it falls mindlessly out of someone's mouth.  I smile.  My mother says in a nice tone of voice, things like, "No, finding an appointment time that works for both of us isn't awesome, honey. The Grand Canyon at sunrise is awesome. "

[Katy]

I give standing ovations at kid stuff.  It doesn't matter how awful or off-key the Christmas pageant is, I still stand up.

 

When adult things are terrible, I'm sort of rude.  I either refuse to stand OR I leave at intermission.

[redsquirrel]

As the mother of kids who perform quite often, I rarely see standing ovations.  But I have certainly seen a few adults (I assume very excited parents) stand up and the rest of the audience remain seated but applauding.

 

Just last weekend my kids were in an out of town Nutcracker and it did end with a very appreciative audience but no ovation, nor would I expect one.

 

I saw an absolutely wonderful performance of Giselle two years ago that ended in an ovation. It was an amazing performance, I was in tears, and the audience got to their feet as soon as it was over, before the curtain call even.

 

But I don't feel like I see them all the time, or even most of the time.

[GailV]

I think people give standing ovations at the Muny because they're all getting up to run out -- the place holds several thousand people, so anything to get a jump on traffic.

 

Other than that, most places I go have a mix of people standing and people sitting.  Admittedly, I go to a lot of kid stuff, so enthused family members are often present in force.  I only get up if I feel like it, but I'm an awful person, so there's that.

[Tsuga]

I do not see that many standing ovations, even when I think there should be one! For example, I was deeply moved by Carmina Burana when I saw it here in Seattle, but everyone just sat and clapped. I thought it was absolutely amazing, some of the most passionate dancing I'd seen in a long time.

 

Apparently I was the only one and I had to keep my butt in the chair to be respectful of those behind me.

 

 

[Amy in NH]

annoying

 

I think I started noticing this trend about 10-15 years ago.  It's like one or two family members in the audience go overboard which causes the peer pressure effect.  I don't stand unless it was a stellar performance, but I'm not afraid to buck the peer pressure.  :D

[Jackie]

I was astonished this weekend that a performance *didn't* get a standing ovation. It was a performance of The Nutcracker put on by the local university that combined college students majoring in performance arts with local youth as young as 7yo. Some performances were awesome, some were so-so, but overall for a performance with such a wide age/experience range, they did a great job. DD and I decided to stand, but most of the audience didn't. It felt almost disrespectful.

[Arcadia]

The classical concerts we went to with standing ovations also get multiple calls for encore. For kids performance, people just stand and clap at the end to encourage the young kids walking down the stage after the final curtain call.

[happi duck]

Everyone was happy it was over?

Or...

Some people jumped up to escape and startled some other people who were snoozing who then upon hearing applause and seeing people standing joined what they thought was a standing ovation and then this caused insecurity among many concert goers who thought it was bad but based on the standing o figured they were missing something and didn't want to look uncultured so joined in.

:)

[happi duck]

If I am moved by a performance I give a standing ovation even if no one else does...except at a certain outdoor theater because the audience sits on a steep hill and that greatly increases the degree of difficulty!

[Tap]

I do think that some people stand for just about any performance, but I also think that sometimes people stand for individual performances.  Maybe the cellos and violins were having a bad night, but the flutes and oboes were breathtaking to them.  

 

I see a mixture of people usually.  We live in a very liberal city, and people seem pretty comfortable making that decision for themselves.  The smaller the venue though, the higher the peer pressure.  LOL  It is harder to remain seated when there are 100 audience members, vs 1000.

[lmrich]

A lot of times I am ready to stand up by the end of a long performance, so they get a standing ovation just so I can stretch my legs.

[skimomma]

It is not uncommon in my area but not so much for kids' performances.  Our local community symphony has improved with each season for about five years now so while the performances are not flawless, I feel compelled to stand because it is clear they are going to great lengths to give the very best performance they can.  And we just saw an amazing combined professional/local performance of the Nutcracker that had the whole audience jumping out of our seats at the end.  But it is not all performances and there are a lot of people who do not stand.

 

What I do find becoming more common and VERY annoying is that audiences no longer seem to understand multi-movement pieces and will clap between movements.  It is distracting and can be unnerving for the conductor and performers.  We have been to a handful of concerts lately where the conductor attempts to educate the audience before performing a multi-movement piece.  But sheesh.....when did we lose basic concert etiquette?  

[Susan in TN]

I agree that it is overdone. We go to a lot of performances (professional, community, children, university) and I would say ovations are given at maybe 1/3 of the performances. Very few of them are actually ovation-worth, but if people decide to give children an ovation I will always stand, because it would be mean to sit and refuse.

 

I did attend a performance of a teenager performing a very challenging violin concerto and was surprised that she did not get one despite her excellent performance.

 

Sometimes I think people are giving the organization an ovation, not the specific performance.

[FaithManor]

I agree that the "everyone gets an ovation for just showing up" mentality has lead to standing ovations that are not deserved.

 

For what it is worth, my ds is in the college chorale and their concert was this past Friday night. They were truly outstanding, and I am not biased. I majored piano performance and music education so I know "good" and "excellent" and "outstanding" and all the shades in between. They got a long ovation that they rightly deserved but not a standing ovation. They had a small, very small problem on their last number due to the fact that their regular accompanist fell and broke a finger the day before. A very, very talented piano performance major was brought in to fill for him and only had one time through with them on this number and it was an absolute bear of an accompaniment, very difficult. She did super well for the circumstances, but also got just a bit off in one section which threw them a bit. It was noticeable. Not bad. But noticeable. The other 15 numbers were truly outstanding. However, this was a crowd with an ear who knew that standing ovations are for flawless performances only.

 

That said, many of us made sure to seek out the pianist afterward at the reception and make sure she knew we thought she did an amazing job with difficult music on such short notice. They performed the piece the next night at a local church fundraiser and it was spectacular. They had rehearsed it that afternoon and she had been able to find some time to work through the timing on that difficult section with the choir professor as well as work out a different fingering, I give her a lot of credit. I have been in the professional accompanist hot seat before and had to pick up in an emergency. It isn't easy, a real nail biter in some instances.

 

At any rate, I am no fan of these crazy over-done, ovations and standing ovations when they are not earned.

[Mergath]

What I do find becoming more common and VERY annoying is that audiences no longer seem to understand multi-movement pieces and will clap between movements.  It is distracting and can be unnerving for the conductor and performers.  We have been to a handful of concerts lately where the conductor attempts to educate the audience before performing a multi-movement piece.  But sheesh.....when did we lose basic concert etiquette?  

 

That's one of my pet peeves, too. Thankfully it doesn't happen much here, I think because it tends to usually be the same people at concerts and so they all know better. 

[Lady Florida.]

I too think it's over done. I can't recall the last time I've been to a bad performance, but I can also say not every performance I've attended it worthy of a standing ovation. I always thought that was supposed to be rare, but it seems as if it's the norm now.

 

I understand the peer pressure. If you don't stand up you look like the grump in the crowd, rather than simply someone who enjoyed a good performance.

Edited December 7, 2015 by Lady Florida

[Bluegoat]

It's very common here.

 

I think North Americans have  thing bout giving over the top reviews.

 

There was a prof in the department I'd studied in who came from England.  He told me that he's had trouble because his recommendation letters were all pretty honest about his abilities.  In applying here, people had expected anyone reasonable would eve only glowing recommendations.

 

I think its a similar kind of mentality.

[SparklyUnicorn]

Maybe they were being merciful, or were glad it was over, or most of them are tone deaf.  LOL