The song ends. The audience erupts into applause. The spectators now stand and cheer intensely. Would it have been a memorable presentation by a musical genius? A rewarding Susan Boyle-style unexpected surprise? A brilliant performance, the perfect pitch, a wonderful voice?
Although the reaction of the audience so suggests, there seems to be an increasing disparity between the intensity of the ovation and the merits of the performance. Maybe it is the politically correct applause, which rewards the effort – even when the result is poor. Or perhaps the audience cannot distinguish a good from a deplorable presentation. It can be pity for the tone deaf singer or relief that the ordeal is over. Perhaps the production is lighting the “Applause” sign, claiming retribution for a free ticket. Or it is all just a way to relieve stress. But I think it is really a new conditioned reflex, the curious notion that applauding is what the audience is expected to do.
This compulsive applause disorder also applies to sports, even the most noble, in which insulting the referee is still not the rule. Few moves escape vigorous acclaim. A tennis player at Wimbledon scores fifteen points in the second game of the first set thanks to a double fault of his opponent, and vivid applause follows. Worse, for a few years now, when clapping subsides, the contest for squeals of encouragement begins: “Come on Roger!” “Way to go Andy!” Until the referee calls for silence, or even later.
In short, audiences have lost their measure. In a noisy and annoying exercise, true talent, the great play and the masterpiece are rewarded in a very similar way to mediocrity, uninspired play and pathetic improvisation.
I have always found clapping very uncomfortable. Slapping one’s hands red is only justified by a performance so impressive that we are driven to applaud almost without noticing. It is the genuine reward, the result of unrestrained admiration, which overflows in recognition and justifies the pain of each clap. It is the “Bravo!” which was reserved for excellence and that today praises even the commonplace.
But this is how things are. The denier of applause is frowned upon. Frantic accolades are the rule of the day.
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