''Spartacus'' () is a

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

Aram Khachaturian Aram Ilyich Khachaturian (; 1 May 1978) was a Soviet Armenians, Armenian composer and conductor. He is considered one of the leading Music of the Soviet Union#Classical music of the Soviet Union, Soviet composers. Khachaturian was born and rai ...

(1903–1978). The work follows the exploits of

Spartacus Spartacus (; ) was a Thracians, Thracian gladiator (Thraex) who was one of the Slavery in ancient Rome, escaped slave leaders in the Third Servile War, a major Slave rebellion, slave uprising against the Roman Republic. Historical accounts o ...

, the leader of the

slave Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

uprising against the Romans known as the

Third Servile War The Third Servile War, also called the Gladiator War and the War of Spartacus by Plutarch, was the last in a series of slave rebellions against the Roman Republic known as the Servile Wars. This third rebellion was the only one that directl ...

, although the ballet's storyline takes considerable liberties with the historical record. Khachaturian composed ''Spartacus'' in 1954, and was awarded a Lenin Prize for the composition that same year. It was first staged in Leningrad on 27 December 1956, as choreographed by Leonid Yakobson, for the Kirov Theatre of Opera and Ballet (Mariinsky Theatre), where it stayed in repertory for many years, but only with qualified success since Yakobson abandoned conventional ''

pointe Pointe technique ( ) is part of classical ballet involving a technique that concerns ''pointe work'', in which a ballet dancer supports all body weight on the tips of fully extended feet when wearing pointe shoes. A dancer is said to be ''en po ...

'' in his choreography. Yakobson restaged his version for the Bolshoi in 1962 and it was part of the Bolshoi's 1962 tour to New York. The ballet received its first staging at the

Bolshoi Theatre The Bolshoi Theatre ( rus, Большо́й теа́тр, r=Bol'shoy teatr, p=bɐlʲˈʂoj tʲɪˈat(ə)r, t=Grand Theater) is a historic opera house in Moscow, Russia, originally designed by architect Joseph Bové. Before the October Revolutio ...

, Moscow in 1958, choreographed by

Igor Moiseyev Igor Aleksandrovich Moiseyev (; – 2 November 2007) was a Soviet and Russian ballet master, dancer, choreographer and pedagogue. Moiseyev was widely acclaimed as the greatest 20th-century choreographer of character dance, a dance style simila ...

; however it was the 1968 production, choreographed by

Yury Grigorovich Yury Nikolayevich Grigorovich (; 2 January 1927 – 19 May 2025) was a Soviet and Russian ballet dancer, ballet master, choreographer, and pedagogue who dominated the Russian ballet for 30 years, especially as artistic director of the Bolshoi B ...

, which achieved the greatest acclaim for the ballet. ''Spartacus'' remains one of Khachaturian's best known works and is prominent within the repertoires of the Bolshoi Theatre and other ballet companies in

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

and the former

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

Synopsis

Principal characters: *Crassus, Roman consul *Spartacus, captive king of Thrace *Phrygia, wife of Spartacus *Aegina, concubine to Crassus

Act I

The Roman consul Crassus returns to Rome from his latest conquests in a triumphal procession. Among his captives are the Thracian king Spartacus and his wife Phrygia. Spartacus laments his captivity and bids a bitter farewell to Phrygia, who is taken off to join Crassus's harem of concubines. To entertain Crassus and his entourage, Spartacus is sent into the gladiatorial ring and is forced to kill a close friend. Horrified at his deed, Spartacus incites his fellow captives to rebellion.

Act II

The escaped captives celebrate their freedom. Meanwhile, Crassus entertains the Roman patricians with lavish entertainment. Spartacus and the other escaped captives disrupt the orgy and rescue the slave women, including Phrygia. Aegina insists that Crassus pursue the slave army immediately. The lovers celebrate their escape to the "Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia".

Act III

Aegina discovers Spartacus's camp and observes the lovers emerging from their tent the next morning. Aegina sends word to Crassus, who sends his army in pursuit. Internecine struggles break out among Spartacus's forces. Finally, Crassus's forces discover Spartacus and impale him upon their spears. Spartacus's closest followers recover his body and carry it off while Phrygia mourns her loss.

Orchestral adaptation

Khachaturian extracted and arranged music from the ballet in 1955 for four orchestral suites: *Spartacus Suite No.1 **Introduction – Dance of the Nymphs **Adagio of Aegina and Harmodius **Variation of Aegina and Bacchanalia **Scene and Dance with Crotala **Dance of the Gaditanae – Victory of Spartacus *Spartacus Suite No.2 **Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia **Entrance of the Merchants – Dance of a Roman Courtesan – **General Dance **Entrance of Spartacus – Quarrel – **Treachery of Harmodius **Dance of the Pirates *Spartacus Suite No.3 **Dance of a Greek Slave **Dance of an Egyptian Girl **Night Incident **Dance of Phrygia – Parting Scene **At the Circus *Spartacus Suite No.4 **Bacchante's Melancholy Dance **Spartacus Procession **Death of the Gladiator **Call to Arms – Spartacus' Uprising Instrumentation: 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons; 4 horns, 4 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba; timpani, percussion; strings.

In popular culture

* The "Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia" (the opening piece in Suite No. 2), was used as the main love theme in the 1968 film ''

Mayerling Mayerling is a small village (pop. 200) in Lower Austria belonging to the municipality of Alland in the district of Baden (district of Austria), Baden. It is situated on the Schwechat river, in the Vienna Woods, Wienerwald (''Vienna woods''), so ...

'', and afterwards in other films including ''

The Hudsucker Proxy ''The Hudsucker Proxy'' is a 1994 screwball comedy film co-written, produced, and directed by the Coen brothers. Sam Raimi co-wrote the script and served as second unit director. The film stars Tim Robbins as a naïve but ambitious business sch ...

'' (1994), '' Ice Age: The Meltdown'' (2006), '' IF'' (2024), and in ''

Caligula Gaius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (31 August 12 – 24 January 41), also called Gaius and Caligula (), was Roman emperor from AD 37 until his assassination in 41. He was the son of the Roman general Germanicus and Augustus' granddaughter Ag ...

'' (1979), where a disco version of the theme with lyrics by the artist Lydia was released as a single from the soundtrack. * The Adagio was the opening theme for the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

series ''

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'' (1971–1980) as well as in advertisements for

Philips Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), simply branded Philips, is a Dutch multinational health technology company that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, its world headquarters have been situated in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarter ...

television sets in Australia in the late 1970s. * ''Spartakus'', a 1977

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

musical/ballet film directed by Vadim Derbenyov and

Yuri Grigorovich Yury Nikolayevich Grigorovich (; 2 January 1927 – 19 May 2025) was a Soviet and Russian ballet dancer, ballet master, choreographer, and pedagogue who dominated the Russian ballet for 30 years, especially as artistic director of the Bolshoi B ...

, which is also a remake of the Bolshoi Theater's 1968 production also choreographed by Grigorovich.Spartacus (1977)

IMDb IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...

* Portions of the ballet were performed by the Phantom Regiment Drum and Bugle Corps in 1981, 1982, and 2008 – with the Corps winning the 2008 DCI World Championship title, performing their interpretation of the ballet. * In 1984, with words by

Tony Hiller Anthony Toby Hiller (30 July 1927 – 26 August 2018) was an English songwriter and record producer. He was best known for writing and/or producing hits for Brotherhood of Man, including " United We Stand" (1970) and " Save Your Kisses for Me" ( ...

and

Nicky Graham Nicholas Lynedoch Graham (January 1945 – 3 February 2024) was a British musician, songwriter and music producer. He was born in Durban, South Africa, in January 1945, before his family returned to the UK in 1960. His musical career began when ...

, it became a popular song, "Journey's End", recorded by

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on Capitol. * In 1990, Mexican rock band

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used "Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia" for their hit song "Antes de que nos olviden" (Before We're Forgotten) from their album ''El Diablito''. * In 2004, Ukrainian rhythmic gymnast Anna Bessonova performed her bronze medal ball routine at the Athens Olympics to an excerpt of the adagio. *

Michelle Kwan Michelle Wingshan Kwan (born July 7, 1980) is a retired American competitive figure skating, figure skater and diplomat who served as List of ambassadors of the United States to Belize, United States Ambassador to Belize from 2022 to 2025. In ...

used "Adagio of Sparticus and Phrygia" for her short program in the 2004–2005 season, winning the 2005 US. Figure Skating Championships. * Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin won the 2009 World Figure Skating Championships Ice Dance competition with their free dance to the adagio. * Ashley Wagner won the 2015 U.S. Figure Skating Championships with her short program to the adagio.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spartacus (Ballet) Ballets by Aram Khachaturian Ballets by Yury Grigorovich Ballets by Leonid Jacobson 1956 ballets 1956 in the Soviet Union Ballets based on actual events Cultural depictions of Spartacus Cultural depictions of Marcus Licinius Crassus Orchestral suites Ballets based on literature Ballets set in ancient Rome Ballets set during the Third Servile War Orchestral compositions with chorus