Authentic Historical Performance Practice for Audiences

A lot of Teatro Nuovo’s work has to do with studying “how it was done back in the day” - reading educational treatises, first-hand witness reports, composers’ letters, etc. etc. - and seeking to bring what we find to expressive life in the here and now. This is what is meant by “performance practice.” 

But why should the benefits of scholarship stop at the edge of the orchestra? We also read a lot about how audiences played their part in the Bel Canto dialogue. And the good news is that authentic performance by the public is liberating. The churchly quiet that later came over “classical music” is entirely absent from what we read about its living context. 

Here are a few basic guidelines:

• If you are excited by what you’ve just heard, applaud - whenever you feel like it.  

• If you don’t feel the urge to applaud, don’t. There’s no obligation. 

• If you feel like praising a particular artist, the traditional cry is “brava” (for female performers) or “bravo” (for male). 

• If you really, really love what just happened, keep applauding until we have no choice but to stop and repeat it.

• If you really, really hate something, the traditional signal is hissing or groaning noises. (We hope you won’t, but we can take it, and we need to know!)

• If you like something but it puts you in the mood to hold your breath in wonder, or to ponder it in quiet contemplation, that’s fine too - let the music speak to you as it will. 

All of it can be summed up in a word: Engage! Our hearts and souls are in this music, and there’s nothing we want more than to reach yours.