Thanks to Wikipedia The complex music and violent dance steps depicting fertility rites first drew catcalls and whistles from the crowd. At the start with the opening bassoon solo, the audience began to boo loudly due to the slight discord in the background notes behind the bassoon's opening melody. There were loud arguments in the audience between supporters and opponents of the work. These were soon followed by shouts and fistfights in the aisles. The unrest in the audience eventually degenerated into a riot. The Paris police arrived by intermission, but they restored only limited order. Chaos reigned for the remainder of the performance, and Stravinsky himself was so upset on account of its reception that he fled the theater in mid-scene, reportedly crying. Fellow composer Camille Saint-Saëns famously stormed out of the première (though Stravinsky later said "I do not know who invented the story that he was present at, but soon walked out, of the premiere.") allegedly infuriated over the misuse of the bassoon in the ballet's opening bars. Stravinsky ran backstage, where Diaghilev was turning the lights on and off in an attempt to try to calm the audience. Nijinsky stood on a chair, leaned out (far enough that Stravinsky had to grab his coat-tail), and shouted counts to the dancers, who were unable to hear the orchestra. Although Nijinsky and Stravinsky were despondent, Diaghilev (a Russian art critic as well as the ballet's impresario) commented that the scandal was "just what I wanted". The music and choreography were considered barbaric and sexual and are also often noted as being the primary factors for the cause of the riot, but many political and social tensions surrounding the premiere contributed to the backlash as well. The ballet completed its run of seven performancesamid controversy, but experienced no further disruption

The crickets didn't like to be upstaged by a Russian

The premiere of "The Rite of Spring", was a landmark event, for reasons one may not expect. The work opened in Paris in 1913, at the Theatre des Champs Elysees. The Parisian audience was dotted with a number of very famous musicians and composers, as well as not a few critics. When the evening began with a former ballet of the composer, “Les Sylphides,” the audience settled in for a peaceful night. Their peace was shattered with the opening of the “Rite of Spring.” Drums nearly knocked them from their seats, and they responded with roars. Audience members stood on their seats to boo and yell, and the noise made it impossible for the dancers to hear. Nijinsky and Diaghilev shouted timing and numbers from the back to keep the dancers in step, while audience members left. To keep themselves heard, the orchestra played louder and louder, and finally the piece was terminated near the end. Famous composers that were there had an even split in their thinking-half thought that the work was pure genius, while half thought that the composer should be shot. There are reasons that an audience may not have been ready for the work. In one case, the strong sense of religion that invaded Paris at the time caused many to look down at the primitive rage that swept the arts crowd. The costumes were minimalist and the blocking and dancing unusual, especially for an audience used to glittering costumes and fairy tales. The music itself was jarring and dissonant, a shocking change from the other melodies and tonal works of the composer. The work was simply too futuristic, too ahead of its time, from the mind of a composer that could not be restrained by the period he was in.