There have been many notable instances of unruly behaviour at classical music concerts, often at the premiere of a new work or production. Audience members displayed unruly behavior for a variety of reasons.

18th century

Composer Title Date Location Details Thomas Arne Artaxerxes February 24, 1763 London At the revival of Thomas Arne's opera Artaxerxes, a mob protesting the abolition of half-price admissions stormed the theatre in the middle of the performance.

19th century Composer Title Date Location Details William Reeve Family Quarrels December 18, 1802 London Part of the Jewish audience catcalled because of perceived anti-Jewish slights. The melody of one of the songs in this opera greatly resembled the sacred Jewish Kaddish prayer. Gioachino Rossini The Barber of Seville February 20, 1816 Milan Many audience members were supporters of the elder composer Giovanni Paisiello who had written a Barber of Seville of his own. They shouted, heckled, hissed, and jeered at Rossini's new version of the piece. Daniel Auber La muette de Portici August 25, 1830 Brussels Audience members at a performance in Brussels left before the end of the opera to join planned riots that were already taking place across the city, marking the beginning of the Belgian Revolution. Hector Berlioz Benvenuto Cellini September 10, 1838 Paris The audience hissed at most of the music after the first few numbers.See for a more detailed inside story of the opera Richard Wagner Tannhäuser March 14, 1861 Paris The audience was unruly for several reasons. Whistling and cat-calls occurred the night before, during the premiere of the "Paris version", in response to the music, like the shepherd's piping in Act I. Wagner also did not pay the claque's fee in order to prevent disruptions. The interruptions increased during the second performance, when the Jockey-Club de Paris organized a disruption in response to the opera's ballet being placed in the first act instead of the second, which was customary. The jockey members usually arrived in time for the second act in order to see the ballet, and did not take kindly to Wagner's dissent. Arrigo Boito Mefistofele March 5, 1868 Milan The audience came predisposed to drown out Boito's claqueurs and succeeded in making the music inaudible with their hisses and boos.

20th century