HAIKAIS IMPERFEITOS (146): "Adagio" de 'Spartacus'

"Adagio" from "Spartacus" (Aram Khachaturian)

( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86v05kSTZ3Y&feature=related )

The Bolshoi Ballet's Irek Mukhamedov as Spartacus and Lyudmilla Semenyaka as Phrygia, performing my favorite scene. So lovely.

Synopsis

Principal Characters:

Crassus, roman consul

Spartacus, captive king of Thrace

Phrygia, wife of Spartacus

Aegina, concubine to Crassus

Act I

The Roman consul Crassus returns to Rome from his latest conquests in a triumphal procession. Among his captives are the Thracian king Spartacus and his wife Phrygia. Spartacus laments his captivity and bids a bitter farewell to Phrygia, who is taken off to join Crassus’ harem of concubines. To entertain Crassus and his entourage, Spartacus is sent into the gladiatorial ring and is forced to kill a close friend. Horrified at his deed, Spartacus incites his fellow captives to rebellion.

Act II

The escaped captives celebrate their freedom. Meanwhile, Crassus entertains the Roman patricians with a lavish entertainment, including fights between blindfolded gladiators. The seductive Aegina incites a sexual orgy. Spartacus and his men disrupt the orgy and rescue the slave women, including Phrygia. The insulted Aegina insists that Crassus pursue the slave army immediately. The lovers celebrate their escape to the familiar ADAGIO OF SPARTACUS AND PHRYGIA.

Act III

Aegina discovers Spartacus’s camp and observes the lovers emerging from their tent the next morning. Aegina sends word to Crassus, who sends his army in pursuit. Internecine struggles break out among Spartacus’s forces. Finally, Crassus’s forces discover Spartacus and impale him upon their spears. Spartacus’s closest followers recover his body and carry it off while Phrygia mourns her loss.

:::

É o adagio que me inspirou o seguinte haikai:

Frígia e Espartaco,

escravos e amantes, buscam

liberdade plena:

Pernas, braços, mãos

tecem melodias doces:

“adagio” liberto!