Recently I was at the Everyman in Cheltenham for the English Touring Opera production of Donizetti's Pia de' Tolomei (a fantastic show, well worth catching by the way). And I was slightly taken by surprise - PEOPLE CLAPPED IN THE MIDDLE!! Just after a showy aria, when the singers were obviously ready to carry on with the story, the whole thing was interrupted by applause.
So why can't we do this at concerts??