The Spartacus ballet, staged in the Arabian Gulf for the first time at Katara Opera House, was enjoyed by a large audience as part of a special presentation.While the ballet will be open to the public until tomorrow (8.30pm), Katara organised a special invitation-only show for a select audience.Members of the public, artistes, diplomats and media personalities were among the guests who attended the show performed by Armenian National Opera and Ballet Theatre.Dozens of dancers participated in the ballet, which was composed by Armenian musician Aram Khachaturian in 1954. Spartacus had its first staging at Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow in 1958. Since then, the Armenian National Opera and Ballet Theatre has preformed the ballet over 200 times around the world.The work follows the exploits of Spartacus, the leader of the slave uprising against the Romans known as the Third Servile War, although the ballet’s storyline takes considerable liberties with the historical record.After being captured by the Romans, Spartacus is sent into the gladiatorial ring to provide entertainment and forced to kill another slave - who turns out to be his friend. A horrified Spartacus then incites fellow captives to rebel and succeeds in raising an army of slaves. The captives manage to escape but Spartacus, following a series of events, is captured by the Romans and impaled. Spartacus is considered as a great symbol of the fight against injustice.