Customer Reviews

Khachaturian - Spartacus / Lisa Pavane, Australian Ballet

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The first reviewer of this DVD, Hawkeye, essentially criticizes and condemns this Australian Ballet production of Spartacus for not being the Bolshoi production with choreography by Yuri Grigorovich. It uses, instead, a version created by Laszlo Seregi in 1968, which is interesting in part precisely because it is so different from the familiar Grigorovich. The Bolshoi version, like the Australian one, is based on a fictionalized account (the Bolshoi, on a novel by Rafaello Giovagnoli, the Australian on one by Howard Fast). However, the Bolshoi version makes the story somewhat abstract; the four principal characters dance monologues, and duets (Spartacus with Phrygia, Crassus with Aegina); otherwise, they are contrasted with groups, that they encourage, lead into battle (or lead in orgies), reluctantly dance with, or lose control of, but do not interact with. In addition, I would venture to say that the Bolshoi version by itself does not make important story elements very clear; you need to read the playnotes for that. The Australian-Seregi version, on the other hand, almost never allows Spartacus or Crassus to be alone; they are always interacting, Spartacus with his fellow rebel leaders and with Flavia, Crassus with his companions. (The story is also much clearer and, I would say, more engagingly conveyed.) At the same time, the Australian dancers do fine jobs as actors--whereas in the Russian version the acting tends to be a bit...one-toned...--and so the overall effect of the Australian performance is a dance version of the story that I personally find more compelling and dramatic. --The reviewer mentioned above reproaches the Australian-Seregi version for not incuding the climactic hand-to-hand between Spartacus and Crassus. Isn't that like reproaching, say, the Latin language (or the Russian) for not having articles? That (very unhistorical) duel is not in the Seregi version, because it is not supposed to be; it's not part of that version of the story. However, if it is dance-fights you want, the first act is full of them, in the scenes that take place at the gladiator training school, and they are mighty fine, say I.

Lázlo Seregi, appointed chief choreographer for Hungarian State Opera Ballet in 1974 dreamed a dream of a Spartacus (1968)at least as good as Grigorovich's.He even succeded in having it danced by Australian Ballet(1990)and by its leading male dancer Steven Heathcote whose Des Grieux (1995) would be so beautifully danced!In this case it is really a minor third rate choreography with nothing but sought after brutality in it.Whereas with Grigorovich, the main role acquires depth and soul interacting with the other strong characters, this rather inferior choreography is just a pretext to a mere display of macho men dancing(not to be confused with the virility of the Bolshoi dancers led by Mukhamedov.A disaster.

I bought this DVD because I enjoyed Lisa Pavane and Greg Horsman in Coppelia. Unfortunately, choreographer Laszlo Seregi is unable to capture the passion of this secular, revolutionary, and heroic ballet in dance moves. He has Steven Heathcote (Spartacus) hanging on a cross in the first scene, trying to express the gravity of the slaves' situation with a prolonged, "meaningful" sourpuss. By the time Heathcote gets his feet on the stage, Irek Mukhamedov, his counterpart in the far superior Bolshoi production, has dazzled us with many athletic moves. Later, Lisa Pavane is given a similar assignment: "say" something profound facially while sitting motionless on the stage for a lengthy period. The enforced fight to the death between Spartacus and another slave (for the entertainment of the Romans) is dramatic and tense in the Bolshoi production. Here it is almost comic. And the climactic sword duel between Spartacus and Crassus is . . . missing! The passion of Khachaturian's score is realized by the Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra; the music is pedestrian in the Australian performance. You get the idea: there is no reason to own this thing when a superior performance is available. Incidentally, the Australian production, though only recently released, dates from the same year as the Bolshoi's-- 1990.