He has a lot at stake on the production, which is set to debut on March 15. He has booked the capital’s former symphony hall for at least a year. If it’s successful, it would become Rome’s first permanent theatrical production along the lines of Broadway in New York or the West End in London.

The Vatican has approved the project, on the condition that it would respect the artistic, religious and spiritual values that the Sistine Chapel embodies. Mr. Balich has to live up to that promise.

The Vatican Museums, which house the Sistine Chapel, provided high-definition digital reproductions of the frescoes in the hall at a reduced rate because they acknowledged the educational value of the project. Experts from the museum consulted on historical and other questions. “This I liked, because it showed that they were serious,” said Barbara Jatta, the director of the Vatican Museums. At the same time, Mr. Balich had to create something that will enchant Romans (who, surrounded by beauty, are reluctant to pay for it), tourists, cardinals and teenagers. He’s got a private investment of 9 million euros, or around $11 million, and years of planning riding on it.

Mr. Balich also has to convince Italy’s traditionally skeptical art conservators that he’s not out to circumvent visits to the real chapel with a glitzy concoction that includes theater, ballet and many, many bells and whistles. “Italy has all these very conservative art critics, and they are against the idea of ‘spettacolarizzazione,’” he said, using an Italian expression for putting on a big show.