In the Clear to Jeer? When is Booing ok?

The New York Times offers an insightful history of booing at the opera and, in turn, questions whether this tradition transcends all of performance art:  Checkout Theater Talkback: Is It Fair to Jeer?

"Booing hit its stride in the 19th century, when opera was part circus, part blood sport. Staging conventions called for curtain calls after each act, and even the continuity-shattering practice of having singers bow following their arias. Booing, like cheering, was a passionate comment on star performers."

Rolando Villazon, Director of the only
production your Blogger-in-Chief
has ever booed.

I, your Blogger-in-Chief (BLOTUS), was "inspired" to boo at only one of the 80 or so productions I have seen - and many were indeed horrible.  This one, however, took the cake:  Rolando Villazon's directorial debut with Werther at the Lyon Opera House was so incoherent and lacking in sense that I jeered the famous tenor-turned-director when he stepped out for a bow.  


Although I was the only one with the courage (and conviction) to boo that night, I was vindicated in reading the review in Financial Times:  "What we get is a garish conceptual production – anti-realistic, anti-romantic, over-stylised – in which Schmidt and Johann are transformed into vulgar circus clowns and various characters spend time in a birdcage."

What do you think, Tempo-peeps?  Have you ever booed at an opera?  Leave your comments below!