The Spartacus Overture is a far too rarely played orchestral work by French composer Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921). He composed it in 1863 as a stand-alone entry for a competition. Though not programmatic in the same way as Saint-Saëns' symphonic poems, this work is intended to convey the bravery, heroism and tragedy of the historical figure Spartacus (c.109-71 BC), a Thracian gladiator and slave leader in the Third Servile War (73-71 BC) against Rome. Conductor: Jean-Jacques Kantorow Ensemble Orchestral de Paris