Editing Applause (section)

=== In classical music ===
During classical music performances, it is customary to applaud at the end of each piece and at the beginning of the show. Usually the conductor will face the audience when it is an appropriate time to applaud. Standing ovations and encores are the norm at classical concerts, but not guaranteed.

Indiscriminate applause is widely considered a violation of [[classical music]] [[concert etiquette]]: Applause is discouraged between movements, reserved instead for the end of the entire work. Yelling, jumping, and other disruptive actions are discouraged as well, although cheering can be appropriate during a standing ovation.

There have been a number of attempts to further restrict applause in various circumstances. For example, court theatres in [[Berlin]] prohibit applause during the performance and before the curtain call (although elsewhere in Germany, this is felt to be beyond public tastes).

By contrast, [[opera]] performances have traditionally been interrupted by applause at the end of an [[aria]] or certain other set pieces, and many opera scores reflect a break in the music at places where applause would typically occur. Regarding this practice as a distraction, Wagner headed it off by eliminating breaks in the score within each act; the arias in his operas do not end in a "full stop" but flow into the next section of the music, until the end of the act is reached. Even then, in light of the quasi-religious atmosphere of the first act of ''[[Parsifal]]'', it is traditional for the audience not to applaud at all at the end of that act, but file out of their seats in silence.