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For full cast list see the accompanying leaflet which includes a useful synopsis by Clement Crisp
Directed for video by Preben Montell.
Running time ­ 128 minutes

The storyline concerns the ultimately unsuccessful revolt of the slaves led by Spartacus, a Thracian slave and gladiator, against the Roman Empire in the years 73 - 71 BC, but the narrative is purely an excuse for portraying the oppression of the common people by a cruel and corrupt imperial regime. It is the example of the Russian blockbuster revolutionary style most commonly performed outside the former Soviet Union and therefore the one most familiar to Western audiences. It was created in 1968, earlier versions having failed to achieve popularity, and first performed in the West in London in 1969, when it caused a sensation. However it now seems rather hackneyed in its unsubtle portrayal of fascism, especially in the light of our present view of the way the Soviet Union was governed after the Bolshevik revolution and its subsequent collapse.

The filming shows evidence of some of the drawbacks of watching ballet on television - even in mid-distance and long shot it is not possible always to see the whole of the dancers' bodies (especially the feet) and abrupt cutting between shots results in a view of the top half of a dancer twirling spectacularly in space with no idea what the bottom half is doing. No doubt the epic scale of the stage and the sheer numbers of dancers involved is to blame for some of this but it is frustrating at times.

The set is monumental - grey stone walls and pillars - and the costumes are sombre, the whole giving an oppressive effect which is certainly appropriate to the theme but makes for rather monotonous viewing. Even though the characters (soldiers, gladiators, shepherds) are wearing red sashes, from a distance the only colour visible is in the bare arms and occasionally torsos of the dancers.

The structure of the work is quite fragmented. There are 12 scenes interspersed with 10 ‘monologues’ by the four main characters (Spartacus, his wife Phrygia, Crassus the Roman General and Aegina, his mistress). A floaty awning high over the back of the stage is lowered to form a backdrop screening off the set before each monologue and raised again to allow the action to continue. This neat device allows a smooth transition between the numerous scenes but the curtain goes up and down like a yo-yo and becomes wearisome after a while.

Mikhail Gabovich dances Crassus in suitably swaggering style, clearly glorying ignobly in his power. He deals easily with the heroic demands of the choreography and partners strongly but tends to make his preparation for individual steps or for lifts rather obvious instead of delivering a natural sequence of moves. Maria Bylova as Aegina is quite terrifying, revelling in the display of arrogance and licentiousness called for in the choreography. In the third act she performs a solo with a shepherd's crook, swivelling her hips and stroking the staff with her legs, that would not be out of place for a pole dancer in a dubious Soho nightspot. Sadly these two baddies do not get their come-uppance at the end of the work.
 

© Warner Music Vision

Natalya Bessmertnova is delicate as the long-suffering Phrygia, cruelly separated from her husband, ill-used by Crassus and mocked by Aegina, finding Spartacus again only to lose him in the final battle with the superior Roman forces. Her famous technique is secure but she has little elevation in her jumps.

Irek Mukhamedov is splendid in the title role. Here he is at the age of 24, first seen, chained and humiliated, rising out of a cluster of dejected and kneeling slaves, demonstrating the impotent despair of a noble character oppressed and abused by the power of others. His dancing, though much more smooth and controlled than that of the other male characters, demonstrates why he was always typecast in these heroic roles in Moscow. For those who have only seen him dancing in the West this video will explain why there was such a buzz of excitement and astonishment when he left Russia to join the Royal Ballet and dance their rather more restrained repertoire.

The solos and pas de deux in Spartacus include some lyrical choreography and some dangerous lifts and jumps but for the most part the choreography is limited in range and the insistent repetitiveness of the corps dancing (more or less all variations on a theme of goose-stepping with raised swords, spears, staves or fists and high kicks for the girls thrown in for good measure) soon palls. The endless scene-setting in which we are left in no doubt about the cruelty and arrogance of Crassus and his soldiers and the humiliation and despair of the slaves contrasts sharply with the rather perfunctory way in which Crassus is later put to flight and subsequently defeated in a duel with Spartacus and in the final battle in which Spartacus is killed - all of which seem to pass in the blink of an eye.

However the rousing spectacle of so many dancers performing heroic choreography in unison should not be missed, even if it does not bear repeated viewing. And the tableaux are impressive, particularly the final sequence in which the vanquished Spartacus is first impaled high on the Roman soldiers' spears and then his lifeless body is held aloft by his followers, with Phrygia rising up behind him as if borne by some invisible power while the orchestra and chorus provide elegiac accompaniment.

Despite its outdated air and limited choreographic range, despite the score, alternating between block-busting brassiness and sickly-sweet melody (think the theme tune to The Onedin Line), despite the limitations of large-scale ballet on video, everyone should see this once.