“ARRANGED” APPLAUSE

Taranaki Daily News, 8 February 1934, Page 11

“ARRANGED” APPLAUSE

RACKETEERING IN OPERA ABSENCE FROM AUSTRALIA* I ~ - Australia is fortunately free from the professional claque, says Mr. E. J. Gravestock, in an account of his experiences published in the Sydney Sun and Guardian. The claque is “a body of hired applauders,” obviously derived from the French word “claquer.” The custom is supposed to have originated in France, and travelled to other European countries, thence to the United States. The hotbed of this racket is New York. On one of my visits the head of the claque was pointed out to me. He was a rum-looking Italian. Caruso was one of his regular patrons. It seems strange that so outstanding a singer should avail himself of fictitious applause, but apparently Caruso would never make an entrance without being sure that scattered around the house were groups of men who would applaud him and cry “Bravo,” “Bravo,” at the right moment. The singer would buy about £3O worth of tickets and give them to the head of the claque, plus some money for his services.

I witnessed a performance of “Faust” at the Metropolitan Opera House with Frances Alda, the New Zealand singer, Benjamino Gigli, the tenor, and Chaliapin in the cast. It was obvious ,to me that Gigli either had a lot of compatriots around the theatre, or they were the claque, because at the signal from one man they brought the roof down when Gigli sang his big numbers, and at the end of the opera, Charles Hackett, the American tenor, told me that the claque started to blackmail any artist that didn’t support them by demonstrating against them.

Melba herself was approached by a “claque master” on her first visit to America, who offered to make her famous for 50 dollars. She declined, saying if she ©were not already famous, she never would be.