Toscanini’s photographic memory, rigorous musicianship, and charismatic authority from the podium allowed him almost single-handedly to modernize performance standards in Italian opera at the turn of the last century. As Sachs observes, with the goal of placing the music, not social preening, at the forefront of the concert-going experience, he banned encores from the stage, mandated that the auditorium be dark during performances, and forbade audiences to move in and out of the hall while the musicians were playing. He didn’t invent these rules, but they were adopted only spottily until he put his foot down.
Source: “Los Angeles” – Google News