The 1891 Fredonia Opera House will present one of the world’s greatest ballet companies – the Bolshoi Ballet – performing its signature ballet, Spartacus, on Saturday at 1 p.m.

Captured live via satellite from Moscow in 2013, this encore performance is the fifth of six classical ballets from the Bolshoi that the Opera House will present over the winter months.

In ancient Rome, Spartacus, a Thracian king, is turned captive by Crassus with his wife Phrygia. Forced to fight as a gladiator and kill one of his friends, Spartacus plots an unprecedented upheaval.

Yuri Grigorovich’s Spartacus was created at the Bolshoi in 1968 and has since remained the Russian company’s signature ballet. This spectacular production is an epic tour de force, giving full expression to the virility and strength for which the Bolshoi’s male dancers are renowned. Principal Dancer Mikhail Lobukhin is stunning in the role of the legendary gladiator, along with Svetlana Zakharova as Aegina and Vladislav Lantratov as Crassus. The production runs two hours, 50 minutes.

Individual tickets to Spartacus are $15, ($10 students). A special Live in HD Series flexible subscription of eight tickets that can be used however you want – one at a time to eight different HD Series events, all at once for eight people, or anything in between, is $116. Tickets may be purchased in person at the Opera House Box Office or by phone at 679-1891, Tuesday-Friday, 1-5 p.m. Tickets may be purchased online anytime at www.fredopera.org.

This presentation of Spartacus is sponsored by Mario and Monika Alch. The Bolshoi Ballet broadcast series is made possible by Dr. James M. and Marcia Merrins, who funded the purchase of the satellite transmission and projection equipment used in the series.

Additional support comes from the United Arts Appeal of Chautauqua County, the Arts Services Initiative of WNY Inc., and the Give for Greatness program.

The 1891 Fredonia Opera House is a member-supported not-for-profit organization located in Village Hall in downtown Fredonia. For a complete schedule of events, visit www.fredopera.org.