Do audiences stand up during the Hallelujah chorus?

Question

As i was researching on Handel's " The Messiah", I found a claim that in many parts of the world, it was accepted for the audiences to stand for the Hallelujah chorus. I personally never listened to this piece live, so if anybody could tell me wether the claim is true in North America I'd really appreciate it.

Answer 1

It's always been true every time I've seen it performed.

Supposedly it happened during the first performance (the king stood up, and naturally the entire audience followed his lead), and became a tradition after that.

Answer 2

I've heard that the tradition started when "The Messiah" was performed for the King of England (I don't remember which one.) He stood up, thrilled, when he heard the Hallelujah Chorus, and people have been doing that ever since.

Listen to it, and you'll understand why.