The Premiere Amidst Turmoil (2)

The Peterson Theater was packed with people, all waiting for the premiere of Spartacus to begin. As a theater located near the Saint-Antoine District, the Peterson Theater was not large, and its backstage area was extremely cramped. Since Armand had added a chorus to the script for musical accompaniment, these people could not possibly fit backstage—the area behind the dressing rooms was already stuffed with musical instruments. With no other choice, Armand had to arrange for the chorus to sit in the audience. The Peterson Theater's seating area was also small, holding only about three hundred seats, and there were no private boxes or anything of the sort. The chorus occupied over twenty seats, leaving the audience capacity at less than three hundred.

Of course, such a small theater had its advantages, namely that it was incredibly easy to fill to capacity. Armand had been boasting about his new script for a long time; he was well-connected, and dozens of his friends had shown up. With the additional people his friends had mobilized, plus a bit of sponsorship Armand had secured from the Duke of Orleans, he announced that the premiere would be free of charge. As a result, the Peterson Theater, which could only hold three hundred people, was suddenly crammed with nearly six hundred, and even more were trying to squeeze in. To accommodate them, the theater manager simply decided to remove all the seats, forcing everyone to stand. Because there was no admission fee, the entire theater remained packed to the rafters. Furthermore, the common folk from the lower classes were not particularly concerned with etiquette, making the theater as noisy as a vegetable market. One middle-aged woman even brought along a live hen she had just bought at the market.

Spartacus began amidst this clamor. The opening scene of the first act featured Spartacus facing off in the arena against another group of gladiators led by his friend Oenomaus. On the sidelines, the host of the gladiatorial games announced, "The generous Crassus has decided that in this battle, the victor who kills his enemy shall become a free man!" Immediately, for the sake of "freedom," the two groups began to fight. Men fell one after another, and soon, only Spartacus and Oenomaus remained standing. However, Oenomaus was already wounded and could barely stand; his small shield had been lost in the previous fighting, leaving him almost unable to defend himself effectively. His opponent, and his best friend, Spartacus, was almost completely unscathed. The outcome seemed to be a foregone conclusion.

"Kill him! Kill him!" the actors playing the gladiatorial audience shouted.

"Spartacus, come on, kill me, and you will be free." Oenomaus knew that even in his best condition, he was likely no match for Spartacus, a man who had already won over a hundred victories in the arena. Moreover, he was already injured.

"Opportunities like this are rare," Oenomaus said. "It's not often that Crassus is this generous. Otherwise, given the stingy nature of your new master, Akzien, if you miss this chance, you will never have another opportunity to become a free man. If I were you, I would never let this chance slip away."

"No," Spartacus said. "I will not kill my friend. If I were willing to raise my sword against my own friend, I would already be a citizen of Rome."

Having said this, Spartacus ignored the surrounding shouts, sheathed his sword, and turned to leave.

"Kill him! Or wait for the whip!" someone shouted.

"Base slave!" someone cursed.

"I knew he was a sissy!" a spectator sneered. The actor playing Spartacus in the premiere was Armand's friend Louis; his physique was fine, but his face was too handsome, almost like a girl's, making him seem ill-suited for a role like Spartacus.

"Go to hell!" Oenomaus suddenly shouted, brandishing his short sword as he stumbled toward Spartacus's back.

Spartacus dodged lightly, letting Oenomaus's sword pass by, and simultaneously used his elbow to strike Oenomaus in the chest. Oenomaus dropped his sword and collapsed to the ground in pain.

"Kill me!" Oenomaus gasped.

"No, I will not fall for your trap. I will not raise my sword against a friend."

In the following scene, a whipped Spartacus was with the other surviving gladiators, who asked him why he hadn't killed Oenomaus to gain his freedom. Spartacus replied with the same, "I do not raise my sword against a friend." But another gladiator, Crixus, coldly pointed out that his persistence was useless, as Oenomaus would soon die in the next round of entertainment for the masses: "It is said that a very small number of gladiators have the chance to become free men or leave the arena. But I have never seen such a lucky one. In fact, apart from you, Spartacus, I have never seen a gladiator live past three years. Spartacus, you are an invincible warrior who has won over a hundred battles, whether the opponent was a man, a tiger, or a lion, but do you really think you can survive in the arena forever?"

These words left everyone silent, until someone finally said, "Unless we escape!"

"But who can lead us in an escape?" another asked.

In the second act, Spartacus led a group of gladiators in an escape from the gladiatorial school. They attempted to flee north, out of Rome, but Roman soldiers pursued them relentlessly. Many gladiators died during the flight, and in the end, they were forced to turn south and hide in the mountains of Vesuvius.

On this road of flight, Spartacus reached a conclusion: "Slaves cannot truly gain freedom just by running away. Only by overthrowing the slavery system where man oppresses man and man enslaves man can slaves have true freedom. Our goal should not just be to avoid the pursuit of Roman soldiers, but to destroy Rome and liberate all slaves. Only when all slaves are free can we truly gain our own freedom!"

As Spartacus spoke these words to the remaining dozens of exhausted companions, the band backstage began to play the melody of Joseph's new war song. It started with a low, tragic prelude, like dark clouds hanging low before a storm, pressing down heavily. Then, the somber first theme began to play; the music was steady and resolute. At the end of every measure, there was a heavy, weighted accent, like large raindrops falling from the sky or the rumbling beat of war drums.

Amidst this music, Spartacus's speech continued: "I know, my friends, my brothers, you have doubts. You will say, 'Rome has so many soldiers; they are well-trained, well-equipped, and tightly organized. How can we, with so few, stand against the whole of Rome?'

But I say, do not be afraid, my brothers. What do we have to fear? We have nothing to fear! Because what could be more painful or more terrifying than the lives we have lived? We live like pigs, we are trampled like dirt—what is there left for us to fear? Is there anything left for us to lose? Is there anything left in our lives worth clinging to?

Friends, brothers, if there is anything we can lose in battle, the only thing we can lose is the chains that bind us. But once we win, what we will gain is the entire world! A brand new world where no one oppresses or enslaves another! Take heart, my brothers! It is Rome that should be afraid, those slave owners, those vampires! We, we have no need to fear!"

The theater went quiet. The unrefined lower-class folk stopped talking; they stared with longing eyes at the actor playing Spartacus, listening to his resonant, powerful speech, and nodded silently. Someone whispered, "He's right. We, we are not kings, we are not nobles. Aside from our chains, what else do we have? What else is there to fear?"

The surviving gladiators regained their spirits. From then on, they continuously raided nearby estates to liberate the slaves there, and slaves fleeing from other regions flocked to Vesuvius. Spartacus and his friends continued to win new victories, and their force had now grown to thousands. Spartacus's friend Oenomaus also joined the insurgent army during this time. Under Spartacus's leadership, the slaves even established a true democratic system based on the equality of all people.

"This is, this is truly wonderful; it's just like a dream," a spectator in the audience couldn't help but whisper.

"It's like an archangel speaking. I finally understand why they would let a girl play a general," another spectator said.

"Isn't it? I dare say, even God's heaven couldn't be better than this," another spectator responded in a low voice. Then, he quickly made the sign of the cross over his chest. "Lord, please forgive me."

"All people are equal, no more nobles, no more privileged classes—that's great. But men and women being equal... could it really be that women are allowed to stand above men?" someone else remarked.

However, the plot immediately grew tense again. To eliminate them, Rome sent an officer named Claudius with three thousand well-equipped soldiers to suppress them. With the assistance of local slave owners, these men stormed Vesuvius. Lacking weapons and supplies, the insurgent army could not hold off the Roman soldiers in a head-on battle. They retreated step by step, eventually being surrounded on a steep mountain peak. Before them stood the battle-ready Roman soldiers, and behind them were sheer cliffs. Spartacus and his insurgent army seemed to have reached a dead end. Even Crixus said, "It seems this will be the last time of my life. Fortunately, in these days, I have been a free man."

But in this desperate situation, a female slave named Agnippe proposed a plan: "There are many wild grapevines on this mountain. We can weave these vines into ropes, and you men can slide down the mountain along these ropes to attack the Roman soldiers from behind."

"Hmph, just a moment ago they were looking down on women. Without us women, you stupid men..." the middle-aged woman in the audience who was still clutching her chicken couldn't help but mutter.

Spartacus adopted Agnippe's suggestion. He led his warriors down the mountain under the cover of night using these ropes, then launched a surprise attack from the rear, crushing the Roman army in one fell swoop. Spartacus brandished the short sword in his hand and led the slaves in pursuit of the Roman soldiers, shouting, "Brothers, sing our song!"

And so, amidst the deep and majestic music, the slaves on stage began to sing this song:

"

Debout ! les damnés de la terre

Debout ! les forats de la faim..."