Pierre Villa – Loumagne, bariton-bass
He shall be Padre Benedetti, the confidant and confessor of Padre Pio. After scientific and musical studies, Pierre Villa-Loumagne turned to singing, and especially towards the opera, bagging his first roles in the Chatelet Theatre in Paris.
A close friend of Offenbach, he also served Mozart, with five works in his repertoire, from Cosi fan Tutte to Noces de Figaro; from La Flûte Enchantée to Don Giovanni and to La Finta Semplic. He also entered contemporary opera and the Musical-Theatre in the roles of actor- singer, comedian or narrator, especially Roi Pausole of Arthur Honegger and Micromegas of Paul Mefano.Pierre Villa-Loumagne also performed recitals and concerts in a repertoire of Melodies, Lieder and sacred works of baroque in the XXth century (such as Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle or Bach’s “Jesus” of the “Passion selon Saint-Jean”).
Finished scenes (and their approximate timing)
Prelude (5 min 45 sec)
Scene 1 (8 minutes)
San Giovanni Rotondo Monastery, Inside the church (with a statue - human size - of the Virgin, wrapped in a blue veil). Certain numbers of people wait to be able to confess to Padre Pio. Angela, one of these people, stirs and wants to get up. She eventually calls to the monk to beg him to cure her husband, in danger of death. "Everybody knows (she says) that you have already carried out a number of miracles". The monk refuses at first then invites Angela to pray with him, before telling her to return to her home where good news awaits her there.
Scene 2 (8 minutes)
A character dressed in black appears in the twilight. His first words clarify the direction which I intend to give to this character's mission (Padre Pio speaks about him in his mails, by indicating him as: "the Man in Black"):
“I am all that man's mind can create;
I am all that he can desire;
all which frightens him;
all that he can conceive”.
He then evokes Padre Pio's poor childhood, the predictions which were made about him during his birth and wonders about his own nature: "am I the emissary of God, God himself? The emissary of the Devil, the Devil himself?" Finally, he answers the (unconscious) call of the monk: he disappears and reappears immediately in front of Padre Pio, then reaches out in his direction with an object which emits a blinding light. Padre Pio slumps back in his chair. The Man in Black has disappeared. ... see next page
Philippe Scarami, baritone, shall be canon Palladini, the damned soul of the bishop Gillardino. Philippe Scarami was 21 years old when he undertook musical studies and a diploma in physics teaching. He discovered singing during his military service (in the Army’s Choirs). After this period, he studied singing at the Versailles Conservatory; he followed the instruction Jacques Villisech and Josef Metternich at the “Musichochschule” (Köln, Germany). Then he perfected his skills with the famous baritone Alain Fondary, and Janine Reiss as well.
He sings in diverse productions, such as “the Count” in “the Marriage of Figaro” (Mozart), “Don Alfonso” in “Cosi fan tutte” (Mozart), “Jack” in “Porgy and Bess” (Gershwin), “Escamillo” in “Carmen” (Bizet) …… He participates to several concerts (“The Creation”, oratorio by Joseph Haydn, “Stabat Mater” by Rossini, “Les Beatitudes” by César Franck, Bach’s cantatas (Tom Koopman, conductor). He also gives recitals of melodies (“die Winterreise” by Schubert) …
