Germans cannot fire director in dog-shit attack
OperaThe Hanover State Opera has taken disciplinary measures against its ballet director Marco Goecke, who smeared dog poo on the face of a journalist from the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.
But the action take so far is merely to suspend Marco and order him to apologise (which he has yet to do).
Under German law, apparently, dog-shot assaults are not a dismissable offence.
Here’s the lastest statement from Hanover State Opera:
Marco Goecke’s impulsive reaction to the journalist violated all the principles of conduct of the Hanover State Opera and thus caused extreme uncertainty among the audience, the employees of the company and the general public. In doing so, he has massively damaged the State Opera and the Hanover State Ballet. Therefore, the theater management suspends him with immediate effect and bans him from the house until further notice in order to protect the ballet ensemble and the State Theater from further damage. The State Theater of Lower Saxony has asked the ballet director to apologize fully and explain himself to the theater management in the next few days before informing about further steps.
We would like to apologize to our premiere guests and our entire audience.
Impulsive, huh?
who needs this kind of public tsuris?
Associated Press gets into the act
https://www.aol.com/news/german-ballet-director-suspended-feces-203041012.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/13/arts/dance/marco-goecke-dog-poop.html
Sure they can fire him, for bringing the house into disrepute. But because he could then sue for wrongful dismissal they probably are waiting to see what action the State Prosecutor will take. If he is tried and convicted, they would fire him then, as he’d have fewer chances of redress.
Possibly the most powerful skin cleanser of all time.. order here at http://www.dogshitface.com
Goodness knows there’s no shortage of dog excrement in Europe, particularly Paris. Ah, the sophistication of it all!!
They can fire him, but they must take the proper steps lest legal challenges be mounted. This takes some time. There are laws in Germany that protect those who are sick from being fired, and he is obviously having mental problems. The administration must thus proceed carefully.
Why is he ‘obviously’ having mental problems? It seems that nowadays there is always an apologist for the most appalling actions. I suppose if someone smears you with sh*t there are some who will want to discuss, and indeed share, his pain. Well, time to stop looking for mental health excuses for unacceptable and disgusting behaviour.
So according to you we now we live in a world wear smearing feces on someone isn’t insane.
Insanity in the US is a legal term and can have little to do with real mental health conditions. Because someone does something reprehensible does not make the person mentally ill.
Commentators from the USA may not appreciate that Mr Osborne is quite right. Anyone involved in running a business in most European countries quickly learns that firing people usually means paying them off, sometimes unjustifiably. If there is due cause to fire someone you need to move, and talk, carefully
I recall one of the ex-Nazi post-war memoirists relating Hitler’s exasperation at the difficulty of firing civil servants.
Although I abhor such behavior on the part of offended artists, one must give credit to the Ballet Choreographer for a reinterpretation of the old critique response from a composer, “I am in the smallest room of my house. I have, in front of me, your Critic of my work. I will shortly have it behind me.”
indeed!
Max Reger btw
This would have been a monumental occasion for the director to use pigeon poop instead. We are all aware of how the famous saying goes:
“Critics are to music what pigeons are to historical monuments”
Somewhere in Germany, a regie-director is planning to incorporate this behavior into Die Meistersinger.
In place of Beckmesser’s chalk, perhaps?
Pasolini did it in Italy decades ago
He s absolutely right. 100% solidarity. Wait, don t misunderstand, it s primitive and i m against any act of physical violence . But: critics are dealing with shit. It has to be done. Either Prince Ernst August beating the press o r this.. i m ok with it.
Hey, Hanover State Opera, how about an apology to the journalist who was assaulted?
They did that immediately.
It’s not in the above statement. If it was in a previous statement, I apologize for my confusion.
Of course it was an ‘impulsive’ action. Everybody I know takes a bag with dog poo to the theatre, we just call it the doggie bag…
And what exactly about Tar wasn’t realistic?
Name one imperious and abuse woman conductor.
Why? It’s a film drama and not a documentary. I also cannot name a talking fish or a person who can fly and fight the bad guys.
I attended the dance in The Hague that the critic wrote of. It was one of worst dances I have ever seen and it wasted great dancers and an live orchestra that competently performed Bartok and Brahms. It was boring, repetitive and exhausting. The critic was completely right. The audience, of course, loved it as did Dutch critics I suspect because the word ‘Dutch” appeared in the title of the dance.
Hi everyone, German HR professional here (not working in the arts business): of course you can fire someone for this kind of behaviour. But this is not California, and you need to follow due process when terminating an employment relationship. This takes a few days. And you should definitely not compromise yourself with public statements before the job is done.
That ballet will forever be known as the dog shit ballet, and he the dog shit choreographer, not his intentions, but certainly the consequences of his actions.
He’ll be prosecuted as any one who assaults anyone else with dog shit would be.
What a schmuck.
The man responded to a professional attack with a personal one, crossing a line. As concerns German law, we’ll see how the incident is prosecuted and litigated. The State Opera has responded by suspending him but is not responsible for enforcing the law. The question is whether the choreographer’s career is over, as I suspect it is. If the people responsible at the Hanover State Opera have any sense, they will sever all connections with this guy permanently.
They are seeking a copromise.
“Suspendiert” has another meaning than “suspended”. In fact, he has been fired.
By the way, the poop is reportedly from Goecke’s own dachshund, who is evidently a minor celebrity in Hanover.
Pas de Chien!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CfFy_1vgM0
What a waste of perfectly good dog poo!
The critic not only got smeared, but also gained authority. The next time he says a ballet is shit, he can justifiably say he knows from experience…..
The critic this brave man physically attacked is a 57 year old woman.
So… what do you have to *do* to get fired around there?
I am sure if I were a judge I would condemn Goecke’s behavior and sentence him harshly, but I am not. And I am laughing.
he s a hero. he did a holy action. it s surreal that this didn t create a large discussion about press and journalists- and how the treat art and artists.