The Spider's Feast

17, is a 1912 "ballet-pantomime" with music by the French composer Albert Roussel (1869–1937) to a scenario by Gilbert de Voisins.

Part One Part Two Outside of theatrical performances, an orchestral suite has been performed in concert and recorded: 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 and design by Maxime Dethomas.

It was revived at the Opéra-Comique on 5 December 1922 with Mado Minty as the spider and entered the repertoire of the Paris Opéra on 1 May 1939 with Suzanne Lorcia.

[1] Typical of Roussel's earlier works, the music is impressionistic, much in the style of his countrymen Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel.

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".