Scandal in Hanover
Ballet boss smeared critic with dog feces
Ballet director Marco Goecke 2019 in the foyer of the Hanover State Opera Photo
© Christophe Gateau/dpa
The relationship between art and criticism is sometimes strained. Not every artist likes what is written about them. At the Hanover State Opera, this has turned into a physical attack.
The ballet director of the Hanover State Opera, Marco Goecke, smeared the critic of the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung”, Wiebke Hüster, with dog excrement at a premiere. That said the person concerned on Sunday of the German Press Agency. You have filed a complaint. In a statement, the State Theater confirmed the incident at the premiere of the ballet evening “Faith – Love – Hope” on Saturday and apologized. Labor law steps against Goecke would be examined, it said.
A spokeswoman for the theater also confirmed that the substance was dog feces. The journalist said that before the attack, Goecke accused her of writing reviews with personal attacks. Frank Rieger, state chairman of the German Association of Journalists (DJV) in Lower Saxony, spoke of an attack on press freedom.
“Anyone who reacts to criticism with violence is unacceptable”
Director Laura Berman explained: “We contacted the journalist immediately after the incident and apologized to her personally and publicly.” The Hanover State Opera is an open place of respectful cooperation and exchange. “We will examine the employment law steps against ballet director Marco Goecke, advise them together and then act on this internal personnel matter.”
Hüster suspects that Goecke’s anger may have been related to her review of his latest dance piece for the Nederlands Dans Theater. When she came to the ballet evening in Hanover, she saw the choreographer in the foyer talking to visitors – he had his dog with him. During the first break, Goecke stood in front of her in the foyer and accused her of always writing such bad personal reviews.
Suddenly he pulled a plastic bag with dog feces out of his pocket and rubbed her face with the open side, said Hüster. “When I felt what he did, I screamed.” She was in shock and cried. The press spokeswoman for the theater helped her to clean herself in the manager’s washroom. Then she drove to the Hanover-Mitte police station and filed a complaint. Hüster claimed that the attack was planned: “It was intentional.”
Goecke initially did not comment on the incident. His management and the theater promised he would do so in the coming days. The award-winning 50-year-old choreographer has been director of the State Ballet in Hanover since the 2019/20 season.
“An artist – like us journalists – has to endure criticism, even if it may seem exaggerated,” said DJV country manager Rieger. “Anyone who reacts to criticism with violence is unacceptable.” In 2006, an angry actor tore the notebook away from the FAZ theater critic Gerhard Stadelmaier and was fired.