Quote:
Originally Posted by Frownland
I would agree that it's relevant (see my other posts in this thread), but I think this point is confounded a bit by how classical music (especially operas) are sort of a status symbol among many people. There are still plenty of fans in the audience, but I think that there's a significant number of people at those sold out shows who have no interest in the music whatsoever.
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I'm sure you're right, but how would we know how many people are there to just show off/rub shoulders with the hoi polloi? Besides that, I think it's fine to have intentions besides pure musical enjoyment for going to a concert. To me, besides the music, it's thrilling just to watch the musicians play and communicate with each other and the audience. Theater folks with no interest in classical music may go to the opera just for the dramatic elements. Last year, the opera in my city put on Das Rheingold in an absolutely fascinating and innovative production, with much of the orchestra on stage, cyperpunk-inspired costumes, etc. Not to mention, quite a relevant story for November 2016. All this to say, I don't think there's anything wrong with people having different reasons for going to live performances of classical music, so long as they aren't there to disrupt the experience of other people. I actually think it's kind of great that people can get so many different things out of a classical music performance than just the music itself. The halls are often beautiful, and for me, even being in the presence of the performance of a Beethoven symphony or the like makes me feel connected to a long, long cultural tradition. Even if I were deaf, I would probably still enjoy going to the symphony just for that reason.