A ballet director has been sacked by the Hanover State Opera house after smearing animal faeces on a German newspaper critic’s face at a show on Saturday 11th February 2023.
During the interval of a ballet triple bill, Marco Goecke, who had been the ballet director at the opera house, approached the dance critic, Wiebke Hüster, who writes for Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, and challenged her over her review of his latest show, “In The Dutch Mountains” staged in The Hague. Hüster’s review had described the show as like being “alternately driven mad and killed by boredom”.
Goecke reportedly threatened to ban Huester from the ballet and accused her of being responsible for people cancelling season tickets in Hanover.
He then pulled out a paper bag filled with dog faeces and smeared it on Huester’s face before running away through the theatre foyer.
The Hanover State Opera initially suspended Goecke but on Thursday announced that his contract had ended “with immediate effect”. The opera house said that Goecke’s “irresponsible actions” had “deeply unsettled the audience” and “irritated the public”. They added that he had “massively damaged” the opera house’s reputation.
The incident sparked outrage in Germany’s arts community, with many expressing shock and disgust at Goecke’s violent and disrespectful behaviour.
The Hanover State Opera issued a statement on its website apologising to Hüster and condemning Goecke’s actions as an “unspeakable” violation of her “personal integrity”.
As the news of Goecke’s termination spread, many praised the opera house for taking action against harassment and abuse of power in the arts industry. Some, however, criticised the opera house for not taking action sooner, suggesting that Goecke’s behaviour should have led to his dismissal long before the incident with Hüster.
