Spartacus – Ballet

Premiere “SPARTACUS”

Ballet by Aram Khachaturian

Choreography Sergey Bobrov

Set and costume design Asya Stoimenova

Ballet of the State Opera Varna

Aram Khachaturian’s ballet, which tells the story of the uprising of gladiators and slaves led by the Thracian Spartacus and his defeat by the forces of the Roman general Crassus, is based on actual events from the history of Rome in the 1st century BC. As in Khachaturian’s music and in Grigorovich’s choreographic interpretation of the ballet, Spartacus is brave and noble, while the idea of freedom defines his life and actions. The cunning and cruel Crassus strives for personal glory and the unlimited power of imperial Rome. The ballet presents the opposing figures of Spartacus and Crassus, embodying the clash of two worlds. The central roles also include Spartacus’s devoted lover Phrygia and the treacherous courtesan Aegina, Crassus’s accomplice.