The Hannover state opera home in Germany apologised for the incident, and mentioned it was suspending ballet director Marco Goecke with rapid impact.
A livid Goecke approached the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung’s dance critic, Wiebke Huester, throughout the interval of a premiere on the opera home on Saturday, and requested what she was doing there.
The two did not know one another personally.
The newspaper mentioned that Goecke, who apparently felt provoked by a latest evaluate she wrote of a manufacturing he staged within the Dutch seat of presidency, The Hague, threatened to ban her from the ballet and accused her of being liable for individuals canceling season tickets in Hannover.
He then pulled out a paper bag crammed with animal faeces, and smeared her face with the contents earlier than making off by means of a packed theatre lobby, the newspaper mentioned.
Huester recognized the substance as canine faeces, and mentioned she had filed a legal grievance, German information company dpa reported.
In an announcement on its web site, the opera home mentioned Huester’s “private integrity” was violated “in an unspeakable manner”. It mentioned that it contacted her instantly after the incident to apologise.
The opera home mentioned that Goecke’s “impulsive response” violated the bottom guidelines of the theatre, and that “he prompted large injury to the Hannover State Opera and State Ballet.”
As a outcome, it mentioned, he was suspended and banned from the opera home till additional discover.
Goecke has been given the subsequent few days to apologise “comprehensively” and clarify himself to theatre administration “earlier than additional steps are introduced,” it added.
The ballet director appeared no less than partly unrepentant, nonetheless. In an interview with public broadcaster NDR, Goecke acknowledged that his “alternative of means wasn’t tremendous, completely”.
“Of course socially that can be definitely not recognised or revered, if one resorts to such means,” he mentioned of the assault, including that he had by no means achieved something like that earlier than and was “a bit shocked at myself”.
Goecke mentioned that whereas having his work “dirty for years” was a worth he had been informed he needed to pay for being within the public eye, there was a restrict.
“Once a sure level has been reached, I disagree,” he mentioned.
The German journalists’ affiliation DJV denounced the assault.
“An artist should tolerate criticism, even when it appears exaggerated,” the union’s regional head in Lower Saxony state, Frank Rieger, mentioned.
“Whoever reacts violently to criticism is unacceptable. The assault on the … journalist can be an assault on press freedom.”
