Spartacus

Spartacus is one of Leonid Yacobson's most famous ballets. It was first staged in 1956, especially for the Kirov (currently Mariinsky) Theatre, with music by Aram Khachaturian. A quarter of a century later, after Yacobson's death, his theatre company began performing the one-act version of the ballet, which was subsequently expanded into a play in two acts, highlighting the most significant aspects of the master's choreography.

These 'scenes from Roman life', as Yacobson himself referred to his ballet, flash by at a truly cinematic speed. Gladiator fights, parades of the Imperial Legion, feasts and orgies of the Roman aristocrats, festivities for the plebs, and finally, the slaves' uprising — all of these jigsaw pieces fall together to form an epic picture of Ancient Rome. The crowd scenes make a vibrant, colourful background that gives special highlight to the emotional dance duets of the protagonists: the tender adagio of Phrygia and Spartacus, and the sensual, passionate interaction between Aegina and Harmodius.

The ballet master had cast aside the pointe shoes and the academic canons of classical ballet, dressing the dancers in Roman tunics and sandals, and summoned all of his unconquerable passion and inexhaustible creativity in order to stage stunningly picturesque, fluid and natural dances, inspired by Etruscan vase painting and Roman bas-reliefs.

The Leonid Yacobson Theatre has carefully restored the ballet's most memorable scenes, and is happy to show its version of Spartacus to its guests.