Special to Wrangler News
With accordion players making music in the background, Giovanni Zoppé will introduce his large and eclectic family to the masses just outside the big top located on the west lawn behind Chandler Center for the Arts during the holidays.
It’s a tradition that started more than 170 years ago when the Italian family entered the circus business in 1842.
The crowd-pleasing, jaw-dropping Zoppé Italian Family Circus returns on Tuesday, Dec. 22, to launch its seventh year of performances at Chandler Center.
Performing in the old-world Italian tradition, the unique one-ring circus tells a story in which the individual acts participate. Departing from the typical acts seen at most mainstream American circus productions, Zoppé’s old-world charm goes beyond clown cars and elephants with handmade costumes, original stunts and even dancing dogs.
Zoppé Family Circus emerged more than 160 years ago with a theme similar to Romeo and Juliet—the great love story that led to the birth of one of the most legendary circuses in all of Europe.
Today, seven generations later the Zoppé circus lives on, spanning the globe carrying its romantic history with one consistent theme—family—while creating a captivating, thrilling world far from today’s digital age inside their 500-seat tent.
“The circus is about family and tradition,” Zoppé says. “Without that, you don’t have circus.”
The story begins in 1842 when a young French street performer, Napoline Zoppé, wandered into a plaza in Budapest, Hungary, where a young equestrian ballerina named Ermenegilda was performing. In that moment, while capturing the attention of the crowd, Napoline’s heart was captured by her beauty.
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, in search of a future together and founded the circus that still bears their name.
Alberto Zoppé, Napoline’s great-grandson, inherited the circus almost 100 years later when he was offered a job by John Ringling North of Ringling Brothers fame. North was putting together the circus acts for Cecil B. Demille’s Oscar-winning film, The Greatest Show on Earth.
Alberto would remain in America, producing circuses for Ringling and starting his own family. Alberto’s children, Giovanni, Tosca and Carla, along with their spouses, have been active at one time or another in the family business. Giovanni revived the Zoppé Family Circus in America eight years ago, and has since been building its reputation with audiences and critics as an enchanting exhibition of traditional European circus.
But with tradition and family, how does the circus remain fresh?
“The show changes every year,” explains Zoppé. “So no worries if you saw last year’s Chandler gig.”
Highlights of this year’s show include several performances by guest artists which feature two new acts. The world-famous Black Bear Group will interpret one of China’s oldest art forms with dazzling acrobatic displays. Jose and Elizabeth Ayala from Mexico will bring Rolla Bolla performances and gravity-defying hair hanging.
The Zoppé Family Circus, presented by Steena Murry, runs Dec. 22 through Jan. 3. Tickets range from $15-$40 and show times vary. Visit chandlercenter.org or call 480-782-2680.
