Chapter 40: The Premiere in Turbulent Times (3)
The choir had been strategically placed in the audience, without any elaborate costumes. So when the song entered its chorus, these individuals suddenly began to sing, leaving the surrounding audience astonished.
In this scene, they had only sung the first part of the song. As the song concluded, the choir members promptly silenced, instantly blending back into the audience.
"Hey, buddy, can you guys sing this song?" A young man with faint freckles on his nose gently tugged on the sleeve of a nearby choir member, whispering.
"Yes, we can sing it," the choir member replied simply.
"This song is amazing!" the young man exclaimed.
"There are several more verses to this song. We only sang one here. I live nearby and have heard them practicing this song for days," another person chimed in.
"Shh, I can't hear the lines!" someone else complained.
Onstage, the drama continued to unfold. Spartacus had become too small to contain the rebel forces. Spartacus and another rebellion leader, Crixus, had different ideas about the future of the rebellion. Spartacus believed the Roman legions were too powerful, and it was no longer sustainable to stay in the region. The rebellion should leave Rome, head north, cross the Alps, establish their own free nation to the north of the Alps, and return to Rome after strengthening their forces to liberate all the slaves. On the other hand, Crixus thought Spartacus was being too cautious and believed that the Roman legions were not as formidable as Spartacus perceived. The rebellion should stay in the area, capture Roman cities, free the slaves, and continuously fight to expand their forces, ultimately eradicating the evil of slavery.
Neither leader could convince the other, so they resorted to a democratic vote. Most of the rebel fighters chose to support Spartacus, leaving Crixus frustrated. In the end, when Spartacus led the army north, Crixus volunteered to be the rear guard. However, once the rebellion began its journey, Crixus and a group of fighters left the main army and launched an attack on a Roman city. Unfortunately, they fell into a Roman ambush, and by the time Spartacus arrived, they had all been killed. The Romans executed all the prisoners in a cruel manner. Witnessing this, the rebel fighters were enraged, and many demanded revenge. Spartacus couldn't convince them and had to hold another vote, where they all decided to stay and fight in Rome.
"Staying in Rome is risky. Why is Spartacus submitting to democracy?" one audience member couldn't help but comment. "What do these slaves know?"
"That's not fair," another person retorted. "If only Crixus could have followed democracy like Spartacus, we wouldn't be in this situation. Besides, you say, 'What do these slaves know?' The priests and nobles would say the same thing about us!"
"This is... this is a dreadful blasphemy! May the Lord unleash his wrath" the priest muttered through clenched teeth.
In the Bible, after Jesus was crucified, a Roman soldier named Longinus, to ensure Jesus was dead, thrust his spear into Jesus's side. Later, this spear became a holy relic in Catholicism, known as the Spear of Longinus. Legends surrounding it claimed that whoever possessed it could subdue anyone within a range of 120 feet and control the fate of the world, but if they lost it, they would die instantly. These legends even deceived people in later times, with even Hitler fervently seeking it. It was said he briefly possessed the holy spear, but it didn't secure his victory in World War II.
Yet, Enomayi's singing continued, undeterred. This part of the song had been sung before, with a simple melody and lyrics. Many members of the audience joined in this time, carried away by the song's powerful anti-religious message. As the chorus started, even more people joined the choir, stirred by the song's call to rebellion.
Following that came the more explicit and passionate sixth stanza:
By now, the priest had quietly slipped away, disappearing into the streets.
After the song finished, the entire theater fell into a moment of silence. Then a voice broke the stillness, "That was incredible! Can you sing it again?"
Soon, the whole theater was filled with similar requests:
"Sing it again, please! I haven't memorized all the lyrics yet!"
"Please, sing it again."
"Once more, please!"
The curtains had already descended, and the actors and choir were ready to leave. However, in response to the audience's demands, they were compelled to sing the song again. And again. In the end, they performed the song six times in total. Clearly, this debut had achieved unprecedented success.
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