Standing Ovation [from Wikipedia--bold added]: A standing ovation is a form of applause where members of a seated audience stand up while applauding. This action is done on special occasions by an audience to show their approval and is done after extraordinary performances of particularly high acclaim.
Standing ovations are considered to be a special honor. Often it is used at the entrance or departure of a speaker or performer, where the audience members will continue the ovation until the ovated person leaves or begins their speech. Usually, when a critical mass of a small fraction of the audience stands up (perhaps one-fifth), the entire audience becomes compelled to stand as well.
I am not a fan of the standing ovation. First of all, I don't see that many extraordinary performances that I would consider to be of particularly high acclaim. Sure, I'm a snob, but I also grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area. As a youth, I regularly attended S. F. Opera, the S.F. Ballet, and S.F. Symphony performances, which are considered good by any standard, but which set a standard of excellence for me that has not been met--ever--by any performance I've seen in Utah. (Okay, maybe it was met by They Might Be Giants in 2006. Rock concerts don't count. No one ever sits down.) It was certainly not met by Ballet West, who can't find a dancer to execute a pas de deux without wobbly ankles. No offense, Utah, it's just that really accomplished people generally want to be on the coast. I've also attended the Metropolitan Opera, which was a dream come true, and gave me an even greater appreciation for quality.
Note: There was no standing ovation at the Met. One of the world's greatest opera houses, possibly the greatest performance I had ever seen, ever, and no one stood up at the end until the house lights went up. And then they walked out. Talking about other stuff, unrelated to the beauty of the opera. Hmm. I rarely participated in a standing ovation in California either; one exception being the time I heard Jean-Pierre Rampal in concert. I don't think you even considered hearing Rampal and not standing up. It would be like sitting in stony silence after a Pavarotti recital. Not done. Of course now that he's dead, things might be different, but you get my meaning.
Secondly--and please refer here to the final sentence of the Wikipedia definition--I don't like being pressured by other audience members to make a statement I don't truly believe. I mean, sure, I go to the school play because I want to support my kid or someone else's kid, or community arts, but honestly, it's usually not that great. So don't make me feel like a jerk for not leaping to my feet at the end. The fact that I paid money to see a low budget, substandard production with semi-talented performers is enough of a compliment, in my opinion. (Of course I'm not including the elementary kids. You go because they're adorable, and you stand up because you love them and they're adorable. No one holds them to any kind of standard. If they get through the thing without knocking over the scenery or clubbing anyone with a prop, that's an extraordinary performance. If they don't, you stand up anyway, because they gave you a good laugh.)
So I'm not generally a stander upper at arts performances. Particularly when I see something horrible. Then I don't stand up, no matter how much pressure there is. Like that frightening performance BYU Opera put on of "Book of Gold." The one that had me wanting to leave at halftime (that's what the girls in front of us called it).
So imagine my surprise when I attended American Fork High School's production of "Les Miserables" last night and found myself, at about three minutes before the finale, thinking, "Hey. This is pretty good. I think I'm going to stand up." I wasn't the first one up. I think I was probably the last. Fifty people in front of me appeared to have been forcibly ejected from their seats the second the last note left the singers' throats. But I stood, willingly, and clapped my little hands off. I did not cheer, or yell. That is what people do at football games. Or marching band competitions.
It was good. Jean Valjean was incredible. The rest of the cast was also quite talented. Sure, Cosette botched her high note, which ended up sounding like that screech Fiona lets out when she blows up the bird in "Shrek," and Fantine's death scene looked disturbingly like a depiction of a newborn baby who is trying to hold its head up but has no neck muscles. And then it dies. And yeah, the sound went out a few times, but wow. Overall, I mean for a high school performance, I don't remember being so impressed. The sets were cool, the lighting was mostly great, the orchestra was mostly terrific, the vocalists were mostly in tune, and the choreography was fabulous. I felt quite satisfied with myself for being so demonstrative about my appreciation for the quality work.
On the way home, I was taken to task.
Lola: That was freaking amazing!
Me: It was good.
Lola: It was freaking amazing!
Me: Yeah. It was really good. It was amazing.
Lola: Mom. Can't you just say it was freaking amazing? You can never say something's freaking amazing. Why can't you just compliment them?
Me: I did. I said it was really good. It was amazing. I said it was amazing.
Lola: But Mom! It was freaking amazing. Can't you just give a compliment for once?
Me: I thought I did. I have high standards, you know. I said it was amazing. I won't say freaking. You can't make me. I stood up, didn't I?
Lola sighs deeply: Never mind.
Well. I stood up. And AFHS should consider themselves honored, that's what.
5 comments:
My son attended last night's performance as well and thought parts of it were freaking amazing and parts of it were horrendous but he doesn't want to hurt anyone's feelings by disclosing the distressing portions. But he did give them a standing ovation, albeit with a somewhat compelled sense of community involvement. He did feel that Jean Valjean and Gavroche were very talented and deserved the standing ovation on closing night. However, he felt that a neighboring high school's production of the same show in Fall 2005 was better. :)
Were you with me when someone said "You'd better stand up" all threatening and menacing? I think it was for Ilene. There is a difference between compelled and Tonya Harding.
I can't believe you got in. You must be a Very Important Person. I couldn't get a ticket. Where are the scalpers when you need them?
DG, right on. The devaluing of the standing "o" in Utah (and elsewhere) is a travesty of artistic justice. But I think there is hope. In the last few months, I have attended two different concerts by the same musical group in the valley. The first was genuinely superb and deserved its standing ovation. The second concert was . . . adequate with brief flashes of excellence. On that occasion, there was a unanimous sitting ovation -- even if most of the audience consisted of parents and other relatives of the performers. Seeing that, I then wanted to applaud the audience, because of its unexpected sophistication.
It's a losing battle here in Utah.
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