Cough vigilante

Dougholdco,

Every time I read a post such as yours I'm reminded of why so much of my money has gone into elaborate stereo equipment and sources. Am full up with the coughers, whisperers, candy unwrappers, cell phoners et al. BTW, it's no better here in the big city; just a bunch of Northern hillbillies who also don't know decorum from a tropical fish. Exasperating, ain't it?

This isn't PLS1, but his wife, EMM4 (don't have my own log-in yet, as this is my first post).

In 30 years of concert-going, it's gotten worse. At CSO concerts in the 70's it wasn't too bad, even in the winter, but we sat in the Gallery (best acoustics) and Solti and the boys were so loud one couldn't hear the coughers anyway. Plus the little old Viennese widow next to us (we had her late husband's seat) handed out cough drops and hissed at offenders, so our section was pretty well behaved.

These days at SF symphony concerts, the coughing problem is as you all have noted, outrageous, almost as bad as the movies. And the audience is remarkably stupid about when to applaud (please, folks, not between movements, and let the pppp die away before leaping to your feet). But the orchestra is a bunch of slackers and the acuostics suck anyway, so it's just a further annoyance.

On the other hand, opera audiences in SF, at least in the Orchestra section this season, are quite well behaved (but I nearly died last season stifling a cough that started at the opening notes of Vissa d'arte; I had tears in my eyes throughout the aria, although not from the performance.) Lesson is, one can stifle even the worst cough if willing to give all for Art.

Back in Chicago, we once had box mates at the Lyric who were impossible (coughing, talking, snoring, etc.) Finally, we and the other couple in the box campaigned to drive them out, an effort which involved, among other things, glaring, hissing and even hitting them with rolled-up programs. The last straw was during Rheingold, when the offending husband whispered sotto (not very) voce to his wife, "that's the Tarnhelm", whereupon all 4 of us turned around and hissed, "No shit!". They did not renew the next season.

EMM4, your efforts have qualified you for the official "cough vigilante" club membership. Welcome aboard!

EMM4, if you ever move to the NYC area we're calling you in as an enforcer at the NJPAC!

You're touching on an interesting phenomenon. Even in winter, sitting in a tram or bus, sitting in some waiting room or flying in a plane, you'll notice less coughing than even with small audiences in a musical event. I've often wondered why this is. Perhaps a saying in German can give a hint here, where the statement of "I'll give him a cough" is a sign of veiled disagreement, combined with some anger. So, to my mind, there are so many people, who just cannot be still, cannot bear to have others perform and take the stage. So they have to make themselves heard. All this is not conscious of course, but its a sign of discomfort and a subtle rising of inner anger. Why go to concerts then, may you ask, well, many go, because its "done", get bored and and unconsciously have to voice it. Also coughing wells up in the short intermission between different movements of a given piece. It is as if they now also want to have their "say". Only MHO, a hypothesis however, which I'm comfortable with. Cough-cough! to all who disagree, " denen huste ich eins " or I'll cough them one..which is what this saying is in original German.