The stage is spread out on three levels. The highest level is a portal between the closed world of the monarchy and the outside world. The middle level symbolizes the royal court, while the lower level represents the street where ordinary folk move about and where encounters between the old aristocracy and the people. Lighting is all about contrast, and this is especially true of Alegría, which is based on the idea of duality and the counterpoint between light and shadow. The lighting goes from more traditional to more contemporary, with the use of mobile mirrors located on the elevated part of the stage. A series of suspended lamps above the stage serve both as chandeliers inside the royal castle and acrobatic apparatus for the artists. Other aspects include...

• THE CROWN — The first thing one notices upon entering the Big Top is the majestic Crown at the back of the stage with its organic curves, towering spikes (of which there are 120) and lighted branches. Lush vines have sprouted on (totaling 975 meters in length) and invaded the structure, as if nature had reclaimed its rights in this world adrift in time. LED lights placed on the tip of several of the Crown’s 64 branches, combined with other lighting fixtures attached to the structure, give the impression that light emanates from the Crown itself in this dark world where miracles are about to materialize.
  
  
• THE CURTAIN — The giant Crown curtain is the emblem of royal power on which appears an ever-watchful salamander, the symbol of the French Renaissance as well as the inspiration behind the set of the origIANL version of Alegría. Twisted and deformed, the old king’s sinister Throne has lost a lot of its polish — and even some parts — over time. (The Crown curtain was printed in Germany in a single pass on a giant, seamless piece of fabric that is 33.5 meters wide and 6 meters high.)
  
  
• THE SCEPTRE — The royal Sceptre, which Mr. Fleur clutches firmly in his hands as if someone could snatch it away at any moment, represents the handover of power from the old aristocratic order to the people. It is like a “stolen jewel” in this unruly monarchy. Apart from its symbolic significance, the Sceptre has multiple uses including as a lighting fixture, a music box, a clown prop, and Mr. Fleur’s “third leg.”