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The story
At an orchestra concert held on October 11 at Suntory Hall in Tokyo, a so-called “flying bravo” occurred — someone shouting “Bravo!” before the sound and reverberation of the performance had fully faded — sparking a wave of criticism from audience members on X (formerly Twitter). Following a Shueisha Online article that interviewed both concertgoers and the orchestra’s PR team, a thread on 5ch’s Entertainment & Sports Express+ board saw opinion split, with some calling for the shouter to be “banned from venues” while others countered that “it’s totally normal in the West” and “wanting to savor the silence is just selfish.”
Shueisha
10/18
At classical music concerts and other performances, the “flying bravo” — audience members shouting “Bravo!” before the sound and reverberation of a piece has fully faded — has become a point of controversy. On October 11, this same “flying bravo” phenomenon occurred at an orchestra concert at Suntory Hall in Tokyo. Audience members present voiced a string of criticisms on X. So what exactly happened? We spoke with concertgoers who were there, as well as with the orchestra itself.
Source: shueisha.online / Read the original article here
What people said
If you're Japanese it should be "Berabou" instead (old Edo slang for "absurd," riffing on "bravo")
Seriously clueless. In the West, a flying bravo for a great performance is totally normal. In America especially, people get so hyped that they don't even wait for the piece to end — they're already screaming "Bravo! Yes!!" so loud you can't even hear the music anymore.
All I'm reading from that is "so Americans are the dumb ones."
Exactly this.
Are we really about to invent another weird, uniquely Japanese rule?
This is Japan, though.
Seriously, get over this inferiority complex toward the West.
for classical music it'd probably be 100 times more nauseating.
flying applause,
the guy who won't stop yelling "Bravo!"
where old guys compete over who can shout "Bravo" the instant the performance ends.
I think I've heard of that before.
It's embarrassing that people won't even listen to the organizers' warnings.
it's not even their shot, but they're screaming
"Get iiiiin! Down, down! Stay, stay!"
like total idiots.
If they can actually identify who it is, just ban them.
People going on about "savoring the silence" are just selfish idiots.
I'm not saying we need strict formality, but I do want everyone to help protect an environment where people can actually enjoy the music.
If they gave the audience around them the authority to drag people out, I'd do it red-handed every single time.
Seems like there's been an increase lately in weirdos who pay good money just to wreck the atmosphere and get off on it.
It's "Bravo" — but for an orchestra it should be "Bravi" (plural),
and for a woman it should be "Brava" (feminine).
It's not like they stake out turf — they're probably everywhere,
as long as it's a show the flying-bravo guy happens to be interested in.
…
Pfft! Ahahahahaha!
That's the worst gag ever — ruins absolutely everything lol
Can we just get rid of these dumb rules already.
so realistically, banning them is the way to go.
I've seen people clap between movements a few times —
first-timers probably get confused.
Someone making a genuine mistake and someone doing it on purpose are completely different things.
That's a different story from someone clapping because they thought it was over.
Background and Key Points of This Debate
A “flying bravo” refers to shouting out in celebration while the sound of the performance or the conductor’s pose is still lingering — one of the etiquette debates that has long divided opinion at classical concerts. At some Western concert halls it’s accepted as an expression of enthusiasm, but in Japan there’s a deep-rooted custom of listening to a piece through to the end of its reverberation, and the thread reflected that clash, with some calling it “an inferiority complex toward the West” and others insisting “please let us savor the silence.” The original article, from Shueisha Online, interviewed both concertgoers and the orchestra’s PR representatives — readers should check the full article for the specifics of the warnings given and the orchestra’s own explanation. Note that because some posts in the 5ch thread contained extreme or violent language, this piece excludes personal insults and excessive expressions, presenting only the portions of the discussion concerning etiquette and cultural differences.
*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Entertainment & Sports Express+) thread “‘Just ban him’: Criticism erupts over the ‘flying bravo guy’ at a classical concert — ‘I wanted to savor the silence…’ What does the orchestra’s PR team say?“.
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