Note 43 — Chapter VIII · FRENCH OPERA FROM LULLI TO THE DEATH OF RAMEAU.
Reading edition
French audiences owe something to the Count de Lauragais who, by paying an immense sum of money as compensation, procured the abolition of the seats on the stage. Previously, the habitués were in the habit of crowding the stage to such an extent, that an actor was sometimes obliged to request the public to open a way for him before he could make his entry.