Spartacus

"Spartacus" by Natalia Kasatkina and Vladimir Vassilev: rarely performed music from the author's version of the ballet, eroticism and a real Roman battle.

The Classical Ballet Theater of Natalia Kasatkina and Vladimir Vasilev will present their version of "Spartacus" by Aram Khachaturian on the RAMT stage. It is the ballet that any self-respecting balletomane should see. And this is why:

Music

Natalia Kasatkina and Vladimir Vasilev knew Aram Khachaturian personally and, like no one else, understood the composer's worries about the fact that in the most famous production of Spartacus, the original score was halved. To properly honor the memory of their friend, in 2003, on the 100th anniversary of his birth, the couple of choreographers presented their version of Khachaturian's main ballet - which consisted almost half of music that had not been used before.

Story (spoilers alert!)

The directors completely rethought the concept of the performance. Their Spartacus is not just a gladiator who raised the slaves to revolt. First of all, he is a staunch idealist who dreams that everyone will emerge victorious from the battle with the slave inside himself. Such heroes have no place in real life: all his associates turned out to be no better than their oppressors, and the tragic ending, according to Kasatkina and Vasilev, could not be avoided. The death of the sublime romantic Spartacus becomes symbolic: Crassus can defeat him only with the help of a sword already washed with the blood of an innocent girl sacrificed.

Choreography

The original choreography by Kasatkina and Vasilyov fully conveys the morals of the Roman Empire, mired in money-grubbing, gluttony and depravity. In the opinion of some critics, frankness sometimes rolls over: one of the journalists was so impressed that he titled his review “In this performance, only the dog remained innocent.” Others, however, noticed that in the production there is not a single step that would not play on the general idea.

Here everything is subordinated to passion, including the passion for freedom: it is no coincidence that sensual scenes “rhyme” with gladiator fights. A detail that will warm the soul of a professional historian or just a lover of reconstructions: Kasatkina and Vasilev woven into their choreography the techniques of a real Roman battle, which the artists were taught by the famous film stunt choreographer Alexander Malyshev. In addition, "Spartacus" pleases the eye of the balletomaniac with the largest number of soloists. There are six of them here, and each dance has its own character, its most complex elements, its own colors.