The Met will pay tribute to its first 125 years with a gala celebration on March 15. Conducted by James Levine, a host of Met stars will be heard in some of their most acclaimed roles, as well as in excerpts from operas they’re scheduled to sing in upcoming seasons. The gala will recreate classic productions from Met history—but this visual exploration of the company’s past will look anything but dated. That’s because Phelim McDermott and Julian Crouch, the minds behind last season’s hit production of Satyagraha, will be creating innovative video projections to reimagine such productions as the 1883 Faust that opened the Met, the first Parsifal outside Bayreuth (1903), and the world premiere of Puccini’s La Fancuilla del West (1910), in a decidedly up-to-the-minute way. McDermott and Crouch recently told the Met’s Charles Sheek how they’re bringing the past into the present.

How did your approach to the 125th Anniversary Gala develop?
Phelim McDermott: When Peter Gelb first approached us he said he wanted to create an event that wasn’t just a series of arias from different operas but something that gave a sense of theatrical continuity. We talked about the history of the Met and found a lot of old photos in the Archives that are very evocative and exciting. But we didn’t just want to honor the wonderful singers who have been part of this company—we also want to honor the history of the building. So it becomes that whole journey from the beginning to the present day.

How will the physical space of the Met influence your staging?
PM: I see the building itself as a character—a place where all these amazing singers have appeared. Julian Crouch: This is our first Met production that has been created exclusively for this theater. So we wanted to be sure to use the lifts and wagons that are built into the stage that have helped make this opera house such a unique and impressive venue.

You’re recreating scenes from classic Met productions through the use of projections. How does that work?
JC: In some cases we actually project the original scenery onto a variety of surfaces. But overall, our attempt is not to be a slave to realism. Rather, we are focusing on things that have a historic importance and a theme.
PM: In one section, which is dedicated to the productions of Franco Zeffirelli, we’re using some of his original design drawings. I think the audience will be delighted to see something that is familiar but a bit different. To make this happen, we’re working again with Leo Warner and Mark Grimmer from Fifty Nine Productions, who created the projections for Satyagraha and Doctor Atomic.

But it’s not all projections.
PM: No, the scenic department has also recreated some of the original drops and scenic elements. It’s very exciting to see because one might think these old sets would look out of date. Actually they look really fantastic in the space.

The gala will include excerpts from more than 20 operas in various languages. How will you tie it all together?
JC: The program has been arranged to have a musical flow, and we are following that lead visually. There will be recurring themes and motifs to give shape to the entire evening.
PM: The opening sequence of the second half will be an animated projection of The Triumph of Music, the Chagall painting that you see when you enter the Met, to the overture from Mozart’s The Magic Flute. In the chronological order of the program, this sequence takes us to the new Met. The entire program mirrors the journey from that first performance of Faust in 1883 through the different operas that have been staged over the following 125 years, ending with a celebration of all the singers who have appeared at the Met—including the ones who are singing at the gala.

How many people are involved with the staging and design?
PM: Blimey, a lot. Costumes, sets, singers, stagehands, extras… It’s going to be a really challenging event.

One of them will be Plácido Domingo, whose 40th anniversary with the Met is also being celebrated with this gala.
PM: He will be singing in a number of things, but what I’m most excited about is the recreation of the Met’s 1910 world premiere of La Fanciulla del West. There’s this famous picture with Caruso in the center, and we’ll recreate that with Plácido, who will be standing in the ghost of Caruso, as it were. There’s something very touching and exciting about the idea of this old production being recreated and these two singers becoming connected through the years. I think it’s going to be really beautiful.

Marc Chagall designed the Met’s 1967 Zauberflöte. His painting, The Triumph of Music, which hangs in the Met lobby, will be recreated at the gala in an animated sequence (a few frames of which are seen here), accompanying the overture to Mozart’s opera.