Zoppé Italian Family Circus Hits The Napa Valley Opera House 10/8-11

Napa Valley Opera House is set to present the Zoppé Italian Family Circus for six Performances at the Yountville Veterans Home: October 8 – 11, 2009.

Performances are as follows:

            Thursday, Oct. 8, 7:30pm
            Friday, Oct. 9, 7:30pm
            Saturday, Oct. 10, 3pm & 8pm
            Sunday, Oct. 11, 1pm & 5pm

Tickets cost $20 (children 12 & under, senior citizens 62 & over); $25 (adults). Groups are encouraged and receive 10% off twenty tickets or more.

Tickets are on sale now at the NVOH Box Office, online at www.NVOH.org/circus or by calling (707) 226-7372.
            
Enter a magical world of acrobatic feats, whimsical characters, festive music and old-world charm, set among the rolling vine-covered hills at the Yountville Veterans Home. Operating since 1842, the Zoppé Italian Family Circus welcomes guests into an intimate 400-seat tent for a one-ring circus that honors the best of the old-world Italian tradition. Starring Nino the clown, the circus is propelled by a central story that features amazing acrobatics, equestrian showmanship, canine capers, comedy and plenty of audience participation.

Family activities and entertainment will surround the circus tent.  Come early and enjoy a picnic among the trees (bring your own food or enjoy a variety of food available on site). 

A New York Times article praised the circus: “The Zoppé circus evokes something from a picture book:  the clown, the trapeze, the dancing dogs, the ring and the tent.  The show is frozen in time… exactly the way it’s supposed to be.”

The Zoppé Italian Family Circus is currently touring through the United States and has been featured on National Public Radio, Jimmy Kimmel Live and is the subject of a documentary currently in production, Sawdust: Life in the Ring.  

Zoppe, an Italian family circus, is a performing arts troupe dedicated to the celebration of live, love and family. The group is committed to the preservation of the traditional Italian family circus. Their vision is a modern-day presentation that has deep roots in both history and heritage. The goal of each performance is an entertainment and educational experience that sends the audience home with a happy heart and enchanting memories.

The Zoppè Family Circus emerged from humble beginnings more than 160 years ago to become one of the legendary circuses in all of Europe. And like many good legends, it began with a boy and a girl falling in love.
 
In 1842, a young French street performer named Napoline Zoppè wandered into a plaza in Budapest, Hungary, looking for work. There, his eyes glanced upon a beautiful equestrian ballerina named Ermenegilda, who captured the hearts and minds of the crowd with her grace and showmanship. More important, this talented beauty captured Napoline's heart.
 
However, since Napoline was a clown, Ermenegilda's father saw him as beneath her and disapproved of their relationship. The two ran away to Venice, Italy, and founded the circus that still bears their name. Over the generations, the circus survived wars and political upheaval in Italy and the rest of Europe.
 
Alberto Zoppè, Napoline's great-grandson, inherited the circus almost 100 years later. A grand equestrian in his own right, Alberto toured Europe with the circus since his youth, forging many unique friendships along the way, including one with famed actor/director Orson Welles.
 
Welles, who was working in Rome at the time, persuaded Alberto to take a role in a small film about the circus being shot in London. Alberto was then offered a job by John Ringling North of Ringling Brothers fame, who was putting together the circus acts for Cecil B. Demille's Oscar-winning film, The Greatest Show on Earth. Alberto was hesitant to leave his family circus in Italy for America, but North was persistent and offered to loan the family circus an elephant for the show as long as Alberto worked for him. He obliged and was prominently featured in the film.
 
Alberto would remain in America, producing circuses for Ringling and starting his own family. Together with his wife Sandra, Alberto has ushered in a new generation to continue the family tradition. Their children, Giovanni, Tosca and Carla, along with their spouses, have all been active at one time or another in the family business. Giovanni revived the Zoppè Family Circus in America three years ago, and has since been building its reputation with audiences and critics as an enchanting exhibition of traditional European circus.
 
Giovanni credits his family with helping to maintain the grand traditions. He is especially grateful to his father, who at 82 years old, still manages to wow the crowd every time he steps into the ring. "He's the star of the show," Giovanni says. "He's the one that will capture you. He's just an amazing performer. I'm very proud to see him in the ring and performing."
 
For his part, Alberto believes it's the audience that keeps circus performers like him young and in the ring. "When you see that somebody loves what you're doing, you enjoy it even more," Alberto says. "I was born into show business, so I don't think I'm going to get out of it before I die. I'm 82 now, and I've got an artificial hip and an artificial knee, but I still don't want to get out."

Zoppe Italian Family Circus Website: www.zoppe.net.

The Napa Valley Opera House is located in the heart of downtown Napa. A national historic landmark originally constructed in 1879, NVOH celebrates its 130th anniversary this year. NVOH restored its intimate second-floor, 480-seat Margrit Biever Mondavi Theatre six years ago after 30 years of planning. During the 2009 Season, patrons experience an eclectic array of performing arts including theatre, dance, comedy, jazz, blues, world music, and family programming in a world-class setting.

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