Australia Dancing - Spartacus

Spartacus

McMurdo, Don: Andrea Toy in 'Spartacus', The Australian Ballet [2], [1990-1998]

Laszlo Seregi’s Spartacus was the first full-length ballet by a Central-European choreographer to be staged for an Australian company. Choreographed for the Hungarian State Ballet in 1968, it entered the repertoire of the Australian Ballet on October 26, 1978. Seregi came to Melbourne to stage the work, and was accompanied by his assistant Ildiko Kaszas, ballerina of the Hungarian State Ballet, and by the production designer Gabor Forray and costume designer Tivadar Mark.

In the Australian Ballet program notes Seregi states that in creating his ballet he used ‘an original libretto built on [his] memory of Howard Fast’s novel’ which is a fictionalised account of the Roman gladiator Spartacus who led a slave uprising against the Roman republic. While the story is thus based on the historical event of the Third Servile War of 73-71 BC, it has wider resonance in its depiction of an oppressed people struggling against a ruling aristocracy. Seregi told the tale on a grand scale in three acts and set it to an edited version of an existing score by Aram Khachaturian.

The Australian premiere of the ballet took place at the Palais Theatre, Melbourne, with Gary Norman performing the title role and Marilyn Rowe as his wife Flavia. The large cast incorporated members of the Australian Ballet School and featured Ross Stretton as Crassus, David Burch as Gad, Alan Alder as Crixus, Martin Raistrick as the African, Ken Whitmore as Batiatus and Michela Kirkaldie and Christine Walsh as Julia and Claudia. Norman and Rowe also danced the lead roles when the ballet was performed in Athens during the company's international tour the following year.

Steven Heathcote danced as Spartacus during the Australian Ballet’s 1990 United States tour that included a season at the Metropolitan Opera, New York. He also performed the title role in the 2002 production which featured guest artist Albert David as the African gladiator Oenomaus.

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Internet - Google
Libraries - Libraries Australia
Articles - New York Public Library Dance Collection