As previously reported, the event will include a spoken tribute by soprano Ren_e Fleming and a screening of video highlights from Volpe's long tenure. Opera greats Beverly Sills, RisêŠ Stevens, Martina Arroyo, and Regina Resnik will be on the dais with Volpe.

The videos, a spokesperson for the Met Guild said today, will include a biography of Volpe; interviews with Met artists and staff members; and clips from six Met telecasts, including an excerpt from Strauss's Ariadne auf Naxos that has never been seen in public.

Among the artists featured in the video will be composer Tobias Picker, directors Francesca Zambello and Otto Schenk, tenor Charles Anthony, and soprano Deborah Voigt, who will perform a skit poking fun at Volpe for his impromptu visits to dressing rooms. (Voigt will not be present at the luncheon because it coincides with the dress rehearsal for the Met's production of Tosca.)

Volpe will also be the subject of a gala tribute at the Metropolitan Opera House on May 20.