Each wall was 27 feet tall and ten feet wide and they literally form a big white box that frames the Lyric’s massive stage, explains Chicago Scenic Senior Project Manager Ken Zommer.

Chicago Scenic also created a lift or center stage platform that raised six feet above stage level. When two other platforms that Chicago Scenic built are wheeled onto the stage, the three pieces together create a seamless raised platform that is 50 feet wide and provides a dramatic staging device.

The lift platform was controlled by Chicago Scenic’s proprietary “Mini 8” Control system which provides concise positioning and consistent reliability – crucial characteristics for a system that must be error-free during the opera’s many performances.

In addition, Zommer and crew produced nine light beams, each 40-50 feet long and suspended above the stage at two points. Each beam was illuminated internally with LED strip lights, enabling color changes throughout the production. The suspension angles of the beams also changed throughout the production, Zommer explained. “Sometimes they were hung horizontally; sometimes they were hung at a vertical angle, creating a different look from scene to scene.” The set also featured a 30-foot deep, 50-foot wide raked or slanted deck that Chicago Scenic built.