Feeling unworthy of either subject, he eventually chose to dramatize the life of Saint Francis of Assisi, which paralleled Christ's chastity, humility, poverty, and suffering.

In search of inspiration, he had traveled to Italy, where he examined paintings and frescoes and paid his respects at the Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi.

However, his doctor advised him to take daily walks to increase his well-being and he began to attend evening mass at the Sacre Coeur.

[1] For nearly eight years, the composer consulted Franciscan sources, reading biographies by Thomas of Celano and St. Bonaventure, as well as Francis' own prayers (including Canticle of the Sun).

It was presented on stage again by the 1992 Salzburg Festival (at the Felsenreitschule), directed by Peter Sellars with Esa-Pekka Salonen conducting the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

Since then, the opera was presented in staged productions by the RuhrTriennale at the Jahrhunderthalle in Bochum (2003, also shown in the Madrid Arena in Spain in 2011), by the Opéra National de Paris at the Opéra Bastille (2004), by the Muziektheater in Amsterdam (2008), by the Bavarian State Opera in Munich (2011, directed by Hermann Nitsch), and by Staatstheater Darmstadt (2018).

The subject of each scene is borrowed from the Fioretti and the Reflexions on the Stigmata, books written by anonymous Franciscans of the 14th century.

Scene 1: The Cross After a short instrumental introduction, Saint Francis explains to Brother Leo that for the love of Christ he must patiently endure all contradictions, all suffering.

Scene 2: Lauds After the recitation of Matins by the Brothers, Saint Francis, remaining alone, prays that he might meet a leper and be capable of loving him.

Scene 7: The Stigmata On La Verna at night in a cave beneath an overhanging rock, Saint Francis is alone.

Five luminous beams dart from the Cross and successively strike the two hands, the two feet, and the right side of Saint Francis, with the same terrific sound that accompanied the Angel's knocking.

While the choir hymns the Resurrection, a patch of light illuminates the spot where the body of Saint Francis previously lay.

In fact, Messiaen devotes a great majority of the opera's running time to orchestral music, though not to the detriment of character development.

The dramatic action of the opera begins with the entrance of Brother Leo, who sings the "death" motif to words taken from the end of Ecclesiastes: "I am afraid on the road, when the windows grow larger and more obscure, and when the leaves of the poinsettia no longer turn red."

Francis answers Leo's introspection with the "perfect joy" motif, a combination of Trumpet in D, xylophone and woodwinds.

The motif is quite evident in the second scene, wherein Francis asks God to let him meet a leper: "Fais-moi rencontrer un lépreux."

The main difference in Scene Seven is that the motif represents the painful, brutal pounding of nails into Christ's body.

The composer traveled to the saint's native Assisi, as well as New Caledonia, to research and record birdcalls of several local species, later transcribing them into melodies for use as musical themes attached to particular characters.

The philemon birdcall (most likely recorded in New Caledonia) reflects Bernardo's age and wisdom while punctuating his musical and textual phrases.

Messiaen's full orchestration requires more than 110 musicians, placing great demands on budgets as well as orchestra pit space.

In addition to these, pitched percussion instruments are also used: one xylophone, one xylorimba, one marimba, one glockenspiel and one vibraphone, as well as three Ondes Martenot which the composer described in his interview with Claude Samuel as being 'very rare in an opera!'.

For example, after Francis' conversation with Leo on "perfect joy", the chorus sings the text "He who would walk in my steps, let him renounce himself, take up his Cross and follow me."

In the latter scenes of the opera, especially The Stigmata, the chorus perpetuates its image as Christ speaking directly to Francis as He bestows the wounds onto the saint.

In the opera, Messiaen underscores the final moments (Francis' death and ascent into heaven) on a C major chord structure, providing a musical burst of white light.

During rehearsal for the premiere production, the composer coached baritone José van Dam (creator of the title role) in some of the gestures and attitudes evoked on the Giotto masterpieces.

As a result, the libretto includes a costume note on the exact shade of the Angel's robe (as dictated by the original artwork): a pinkish mauve between lilac and salmon.

[10] This production was filmed and issued on a three-DVD set in 2009, with Rodney Gilfry as St. Francis and Camilla Tilling as the Angel.