Napa Valley Opera House: Past, Present, and Future

It opened in 1879 to rave reviews. The Napa Valley Register reported: “The Napa Opera House stands completed, a substantial, well-built, finely finished edifice—an ornament to the city and an enduring monument to the public spirit of its owner, G. W. Crowey. A better building and finer hall of its size cannot be found outside of San Francisco.”

Inside the elaborate Italianate façade, the theatre boasted an illustrated curtain, a painted proscenium, a huge 24-light chandelier, and a spectacular curved staircase leading to the balcony. The exterior was designed by the Newsom brothers, who later designed the Carson Mansion in Eureka. Local architect Ira Gilchrist, who designed the Napa Court House, was also involved. Crowey called his theatre an Opera House to distinguish it from bawdy burlesque stages and other less respectable establishments. Removable wooden benches made the auditorium suitable for traveling theatre groups, temperance rallies or elaborate masquerade balls. The hall could seat 1,350 people and Napa had a population of only 5,000. Crowey was concerned about finances, so he rented out the first floor to shops: a saloon, a butcher shop, and a dry goods store.

The opening run in 1879 was Gilbert and Sullivan’s popular comic opera, HMS Pinafore. By the turn of the century, the Opera House was booked almost every night, with vaudeville acts, light opera, public meetings, concerts and high school graduations. In 1905 Jack London read from the stage. The legendary soprano Luisa Tetrazzini, boxing champion John L. Sullivan and John Philip Sousa’s band also appeared here.

Times changed, and so did the Opera House’s fortunes. The 1906 earthquake damaged the building. Movies took over as popular entertainment, automobiles made people more mobile, and the vaudeville circuit began to break down. The audience drifted away.

The theatre went dark in 1914. While the shops continued to be rented out, the upstairs hall—“one of the handsomest on the coast”—was used as an armory, then a rug-cleaning warehouse, then nothing. The pride of Napa set empty. In 1973, after nearly 60 years of neglect and decay, the Opera House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, preserving it from imminent demolition. A group of concerned citizens, let by artist Veronica di Rosa and historic preservationists John Whitridge III and Thomas Thornley saved the venerable old building.

Volunteers formed a non-profit organization in 1985, and raised funds to buy the building. Napa Valley Opera House, Inc. reached out to the community. The organization created a performing arts program to bring professional artists to local schools (an activity that has served thousands of local schoolchildren and continues today). In 1989, the Opera House League was formed to encourage community participation and provide fundraising assistance.

The turning point came in 1997, when Robert Mondavi and his wife Margrit issued a challenge grant of $2.2 million. The gift gave tremendous impetus to the fundraising efforts. Volunteers met the challenge, and restoration work moved ahead rapidly. To provide the community with a look at its past glory and a vision for the future, the Opera House façade was returned to its original elegance.

Work continued. The Margrit Biever Mondavi Theatre was lovingly restored and upgraded to a first-class performing arts stage. It opened with great fanfare in 2003 with Rita Moreno performing at a fund raising gala, followed by a re-opening run of HMS Pinafore.

Today, the Napa Valley Opera House is once again the pride of the Napa Valley. Its restoration is the result of decades of effort and genuine tenacity in the face of overwhelming odds.