''The Spider's Feast'' (''Le Festin de l'araignée''), Op. 17, is a 1912 "ballet-pantomime" with music by the French composer

Albert Roussel Albert Charles Paul Marie Roussel (; 5 April 1869 – 23 August 1937) was a French composer. He spent seven years as a midshipman, turned to music as an adult, and became one of the most prominent French composers of the interwar period. His ...

(1869–1937) to a scenario by Gilbert de Voisins.

The ballet

The ballet depicts insect life in a garden, evoked by the flute solo at the opening and close of the work, and where insects are trapped in the spider's web, but when the spider prepares to begin its feast, it in turn is killed by a praying mantis. The funeral procession of the mayfly concludes the work. The full ballet lasts approximately half an hour. ''Part One'' *Prélude *Entrée des fourmis *Entrée des Bousiers *Danse du Papillon *Danse de l'araignée *Ronde des fourmis *Combat des mantes *Danse de l'araignée *Eclosion et danse de l'Éphémère ''Part Two'' *Danse de l'Éphémère et des vers de fruit *Mort de l'Éphémère *Agonie de l'araignée *Funérailles de Éphémère Outside of theatrical performances, an orchestral suite has been performed in concert and recorded: *Prélude *Entrée des fourmis *Danse du Papillon *Eclosion et danse de l'Éphémère *Funérailles de Éphémère *La nuit tombe sur le jardin solitaire

Performance history

The work was premiered at the Théâtre des Arts in Paris on 3 April 1913 with Mlle Sahary-Djali in the title role, choreography by

Léo Staats Léo Staats (1877 - 1952) was a French dancer, choreographer and director. Life and career Léo Staats studied ballet with Francis Merante, a dancer at the Paris Opera, and reportedly made his debut in 1887. In 1908 he became Ballet Master at th ...

and design by

Maxime Dethomas Maxime-Pierre Jules Dethomas (; October 13, 1867 – January 21, 1929) was a French painter, draughtsman, printmaker, illustrator, and was among the best known theater-set and costume designers of his era. As an artist, Dethomas was highly regarde ...

. It was revived at the

Opéra-Comique The Opéra-Comique is a Paris opera company which was founded around 1714 by some of the popular theatres of the Parisian fairs. In 1762 the company was merged with – and for a time took the name of – its chief rival, the Comédie-Italienne ...

on 5 December 1922 with Mado Minty as the spider and entered the repertoire of the

Paris Opéra The Paris Opera (, ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be k ...

on 1 May 1939 with Suzanne Lorcia. Typical of Roussel's earlier works, the music is impressionistic, much in the style of his countrymen

Claude Debussy (Achille) Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influential composers of the ...

and

Maurice Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composers rejected the term. In ...

. It is lushly orchestrated. Composed to order in only two months, the music was highly regarded for its "inventive counterpoints, bounding scherzos, gay and uneven rhythms, and personal instrumentation, both caressing and vigorous". The symphonic fragments from the full score were first recorded in 1928 with the composer conducting (his only recording). Walter Straram and his Orchestre des Concerts Straram made a recording for Columbia in March 1930.

Arturo Toscanini Arturo Toscanini (; ; March 25, 1867January 16, 1957) was an Italian conductor. He was one of the most acclaimed and influential musicians of the late 19th and early 20th century, renowned for his intensity, his perfectionism, his ear for orch ...

and the

NBC Symphony Orchestra The NBC Symphony Orchestra was a radio orchestra conceived by David Sarnoff, the president of the Radio Corporation of America, especially for the conductor Arturo Toscanini. The NBC Symphony performed weekly radio concert broadcasts with Tosca ...

performed this orchestral suite during a broadcast concert in NBC Studio 8-H on 7 April 1946. Charles Munch and the London Philharmonic Orchestra in June 1947 recorded the work for Decca and

Louis Fourestier Louis (Félix André) Fourestier (31 May 1892 – 30 September 1976) was a French conductor, composer and pedagogue, and was one of the founders of the Orchestre Symphonique de Paris. Early years, compositions and prizes Fourestier was born in Mo ...

conducting the Orchestre du Théâtre national de l'Opéra recorded it for Pathé in October 1948. In 1952, Rene Leibowitz recorded the suite with the Paris Philharmonic Orchestra and in 1953 the Detroit Symphony Orchestra under Paul Paray recorded it for Mercury.

Ernest Ansermet Ernest Alexandre Ansermet (; 11 November 1883 – 20 February 1969)"Ansermet, Ernest" in ''The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th edn., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 435. was a Swiss conductor. Biography Ansermet ...

and the

Suisse Romande Orchestra The Orchestre de la Suisse Romande (OSR) is a Swiss symphony orchestra, based in Geneva at the Victoria Hall. In addition to symphony concerts, the OSR performs as the opera orchestra in productions at the Grand Théâtre de Genève. History Er ...

made the first complete recording of the ballet in 1954.

Georges Prêtre Georges Prêtre (; 14 August 1924 – 4 January 2017) was a French orchestral and opera conductor. Biography Prêtre was born in Waziers ( Nord), and attended the Douai Conservatory and then studied harmony under Maurice Duruflé and conducting ...

recorded this same music with the

Orchestre National de France The Orchestre national de France (ONF; literal translation, ''National Orchestra of France'') is a French symphony orchestra based in Paris, founded in 1934. Placed under the administration of the French national radio (named Radio France since ...

for

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...

in 1984. A recording by

Christoph Eschenbach Christoph Eschenbach (; born 20 February 1940) is a German pianist and conductor. Early life Eschenbach was born in Breslau, Germany (now Wrocław, Poland). His parents were Margarethe (née Jaross) and Heribert Ringmann. He was orphaned durin ...

and the

Orchestre de Paris The Orchestre de Paris () is a French orchestra based in Paris. The orchestra currently performs most of its concerts at the Philharmonie de Paris. History In 1967, following the dissolution of the Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Co ...

was released on Ondine in 2008.

Instrumentation

The scoring includes 2 flutes (one doubling piccolo), 2 oboes (one doubling cor anglais), 2 clarinets in A, 2 bassoons; 2 horns in F (chromatiques), 2 trumpets in C; timpani, one percussion (cymbal, triangle, tambourine); celeste, harps; strings.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spiders Feast, The Ballets by Albert Roussel 1912 ballet premieres Orchestral suites Insects in art