The Swiss woman who convinced Ella Fitzgerald to sing in a barn

The Mondavis’ $2.2 Million Opera House Revival

Napa Valley wasn’t always a cultural hub. Back in 1967, Swiss-born Margrit Kellenberger joined Robert Mondavi Winery as the first female tour guide when the area was mostly prune orchards.

Soon after, she brought art shows to the winery walls and launched a music festival that hosted Ella Fitzgerald and Tony Bennett. After marrying Robert in 1980, the pair poured their wine profits into bigger dreams.

Their most striking move came in 1997 with a $2.2 million challenge grant to restore the Napa Valley Opera House, closed since 1914.

The historic venue reopened in 2003, and now stands as the crown jewel of the Mondavi cultural legacy.

A Swiss Tour Guide Brought Culture to Napa’s Vineyards

Margrit Kellenberger came to Napa Valley in 1967 as the first woman tour guide when the area was mostly prune farms and cow ranches. Few tourists visited this rural wine country back then.

She started at Robert Mondavi Winery just a year after it opened and became its PR director in 1968. Margrit spotted something others missed – the chance to make wine about more than just drinking.

She created programs that got visitors involved with wine in new ways.

She Hung Masterpieces Between Wine Barrels

Margrit started one of the first art programs at any American winery in the late 1960s.

She brought top artists like Richard Diebenkorn, Wayne Thiebaud, and Nathan Oliveira to show their work among wine barrels. Visitors who came for Cabernet found themselves next to museum-quality paintings.

The winery became a place to enjoy both wine and art. Other wineries soon followed her lead, and art displays spread throughout Napa Valley.

Jazz Legends Performed Between Grape Vines

Margrit started the Summer Music Festival in 1969 to help the struggling Napa Valley Symphony. She booked jazz greats like Ella Fitzgerald, Harry Belafonte, and Tony Bennett to play at the winery.

The New Orleans Jazz Band Preservation Hall opened each season. Wine fans from across California planned their summer trips around these concerts.

Other wineries soon learned how cultural events could bring in visitors while supporting local arts groups.

Famous Chefs Cooked Up New Ideas in Wine Country

After ten years at the winery, Margrit added cooking classes to the mix.

Her Great Chefs programs brought stars like Julia Child, Daniel Boulud, and Alice Waters to Napa Valley. Visitors watched these famous cooks work with local ingredients, often paired with Mondavi wines.

These cooking shows helped Americans see food as art and showed how wine and food go together. The programs turned Napa Valley into a food lover’s paradise.

Two Wine Visionaries Tied the Knot

Robert Mondavi married Margrit in 1980, creating a power couple that would reshape American wine culture. Both had left earlier marriages to build something new together.

They shared a vision that mixed wine with art, music, and food as parts of one good life. They saw wine as the center of living well, not just as a drink.

This partnership set up their later gifts to arts and education in Napa Valley and beyond.

Old Theater Sat Empty for Seven Decades

Margrit teamed up with artist Veronica di Rosa in the 1980s to save the old Napa Valley Opera House. The pretty 1880 building closed in 1914 after an earthquake made it unsafe.

Though listed as a historic place in 1973, the theater stayed empty and falling apart. The restoration team held art sales and wine events to raise money for fixes.

They faced a huge job with the crumbling building, but Margrit knew a fixed-up theater could become the heart of Napa Valley culture.

Mondavis Put Millions on the Table as a Challenge

Robert and Margrit offered $2.2 million in 1997 to kick-start the opera house fix-up.

Their offer came with a catch – the community needed to match their money toward the $13.7 million total cost.

This bold move got other rich donors to open their wallets and regular folks to chip in what they could.

Their approach became the model for how other wealthy wine makers would support Napa Valley projects for years to come.

Gilbert and Sullivan Returned After 89 Years

The Napa Valley Opera House reopened bit by bit, with the downstairs Cafe Theatre welcoming jazz singer Dianne Reeves in June 2002.

The main 500-seat theater upstairs opened on July 31, 2003, with shows by Rita Moreno and the same Gilbert and Sullivan opera, HMS Pinafore, that played there 123 years earlier.

The fixed-up theater had new sound systems and lights while keeping its old-time charm. The orchestra pit fit 40 musicians, bringing big shows back to downtown Napa.

UC Davis Got $35 Million for Wine and Arts

The Mondavis gave $35 million to UC Davis in 2001, their biggest gift ever.

They put $25 million toward the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science, which opened in 2008 with top-notch research tools.

Another $10 million built the Robert and Margrit Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts, which opened in 2002 and quickly became a major venue.

This gift linked wine research with arts education at a leading university.

A Food and Wine Museum Opened Downtown

COPIA: The American Center for Wine, Food & the Arts opened in November 2001 in downtown Napa. The Mondavis contributed $20 million plus $1.2 million to buy the land, helping reach the $55 million needed.

The center featured a museum, restaurant, gardens, and demonstration kitchens celebrating American food culture. COPIA partnered with major universities and food organizations to create exhibits and programs.

The ambitious project aimed to give food and wine the same cultural respect as music and painting.

Teenagers Found an Art School on the River

Robert and Margrit helped start the Oxbow School in 1997 with philanthropist Ann Hatch, opening its doors in 1999.

The school sits on the Napa River, offering a one-semester program where high school students focus intensely on art. The Mondavis gave $6 million, including money for local students who couldn’t afford the tuition.

This school completed their vision of arts education from childhood through college.

The campus became a place where young artists could develop their talents in the same valley that inspired the Mondavis’ cultural renaissance.

Visiting Napa Valley Opera House

The Napa Valley Opera House at 1030 Main Street showcases the Mondavis’ cultural vision that transformed wine country.

You can catch rock, pop, and country shows in the JaM Cellars Ballroom or jazz performances at the intimate 150-seat Blue Note Napa downstairs.

The 500-seat Margrit Biever Mondavi Theatre upstairs hosts performing arts in beautifully restored 1879 Italianate architecture with stained glass and brass chandeliers. Tickets start around $57.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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