List of classical music concerts with an unruly audience response

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.

21st century

Composer	Title	Date	Location	Details
Giuseppe Verdi	Aida	December 10, 2006	Milan	When tenor Roberto Alagna's opening aria "Celeste Aida" was booed by the loggionisti in the opera house's less expensive seats, he walked off stage while the music was still playing. Understudy Antonello Palombi, in a black dress shirt and slacks, came on a few seconds later to replace him. Alagna did not return to the production.
Steve Reich	Piano Phase	February 29, 2016	Cologne	During a performance of the piece by Iranian harpsichordist Mahan Esfahani in the Kölner Philharmonie, parts of the crowd clapped, whistled, and walked out. Esfahani, as he introduced the piece in English, had been ordered by a heckler to speak in German. Loud arguments between numerous members of the crowd persisted for several minutes; Esfahani stopped his performance and started playing a concerto by C. P. E. Bach instead. He attributed the 'pandemonium' to the choice of a modern composition, while the German media inferred a xenophobic motive.
Giacomo Puccini	Tosca	January 4, 2023	Barcelona	The controversy primarily stemmed from the unconventional staging of the opera at the Gran Teatre del Liceu. The production featured Mario Cavaradossi as an alter ego of Italian film director Pier Paolo Pasolini, who was murdered in 1975, trying to draw parallels between them as artists seen inconvenient to religious and political powers. Controversial scenes included many references to sexual violence and an invented scene of homosexual prostitution between Pasolini and his alleged killer while the song "Love in Portofino" played in the background. All this was met with substantial booing from the audience.