After its premiere in Leningrad in 1956, Aram Khachaturian’s ballet Spartacus was reworked three times for the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow under three choreographers during the cultural and artistic upheavals of the Thaw. The three versions of the ballet reflect the ideological shifts in the Soviet government, particularly regarding the relationship between the various nationalities of the USSR. The libretto for Spartacus was developed in 1933 by Nikolai Volkov as a Socialist Realist ballet, linking Spartacus to the revolutionary Bolsheviks. Aram Khachaturian did not complete the score until 1954 but composed in the grandiose Socialist Realist style of the 1930s and 1940s. Khachaturian uses a Russian style for the depiction of the slaves, linking their struggle with the Russian revolution, while side characters are given more orientalist material. Earlier versions of the ballet reflect the Soviet Union’s stance on supporting multi-ethnic revolutions, particularly in Korea and Vietnam. Moiseyev in 1958 kept the grandiosity of Khachaturian’s score, choreographing a huge cast in several ethnic styles of dance. Most of Khachaturian’s 1954 score was preserved, although the finale had to be minorly reworked. Yakobson’s 1962 choreography attempted to recreate the aesthetic of ancient Greek and Roman artwork in the dance and staging. In several key scenes, Yakobson spliced together different parts of Khachaturian’s score to add drama to the production, even going so far as to set the invasion of the Spartakans to Khachaturian’s crucifixion music, angering the composer. Grigorovich in 1968 made the most substantial changes to the score. In focusing dramatic attention to the four lead roles, Grigorovich abandoned the ethnic diversity of the ensemble cast. He also drastically recomposed the ballet score, rearranging and recasting many dances. The exoticized dances were significantly reworked to underscore the actions of the slave ensemble rather than showcase the multi-ethnic cast. This reworking corresponds with Khrushchev’s and Brezhnev’s attempted transformation of Soviet society from a multi-ethnic state to a supra-ethnic one. Incidentally, Grigorovich’s choreography won the best critical reception of the three versions. Despite the departure from Khachaturian’s original score, most new productions of Spartacus use Grigorovich’s rearranged version. Spartacus and its revisions demonstrate how Soviet artists continued to produce compelling works in agreement with state politics even during the Thaw.

Works: Aram Khachaturian, Igor Moiseyev (choreographer): Spartacus (1958) (375-80); Aram Khachaturian, Leonid Yakobson (choreographer): Spartacus (1962) (380-88); Aram Khachaturian, Yuri Grigorovich (choreographer): Spartacus (1968) (388-97)

Sources: Aram Khachaturian: Spartacus (1954) (375-97)

Index Classifications: 1900s

Contributed by: Matthew Van Vleet