Tonight, the Opera House welcomes a man who regularly defies convention, pushes the limits and occasionally cheats death.

Philippe Petit amazed the world in 1974 as he stood — illegally — on a wire one quarter of a mile above the streets of New York, in between the World Trade Center towers.

Totally unsupported and with no net to catch him should he fall, Petit taunted authorities in what was deemed the greatest “artistic crime” of all time.

Tonight, Philippe will answer audience questions in a discussion moderated by KVON’s Jeff Schechtman, following a showining of the Academy Award-winning documentary “Man on Wire,” which chronicles the Twin Tower walk.

“I come alive on stage,” Petit said in an interview from his home in New York, noting that audience members often ask about his motivation for his daring high-wire walks. “The Q&A format brings me back to the adventure. People often seem touched by what I’ve done, they say they are rejuvenated, inspired and hopeful. I don’t claim to be a guru of any kind, I just urge people to have honesty and artistic integrity in everything they do.”

Petit has performed on the high wire more than 80 times around the globe, gracing such architectural monuments as Notre Dame Cathedral and the Sydney Harbour Bridge. He has done more than a dozen walks in New York City where he has been an artist in residence at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine since 1982.

He took his first steps on the wire at age 16, learning by himself while being expelled from five different schools. Performing on five continents, he taught himself Spanish, German, Russian and English, and developed a keen appreciation for architecture and engineering.

In addition to walking the high wire, Philippe writes, draws, performs close-up magic and street juggling, practices lock-picking and 18th century timber framing, plays chess, studies French wines and was once seen bullfighting in Peru.

His seventh book, “L’Art du Pickpocket,” was recently published in Paris; he is now at work on his eighth, “On Building a Barn.”

“I meet young artists who ask for advice and I tell them not to play it safe. I tell them to be themselves, which one of the most difficult things to do, to discover who they are,” Petit said. “Yes, perhaps everything has been done, but there is everything left to invent.”

If you go

What: Philippe Petit, Man On Wire

Where: Napa Valley Opera House,

1030 Main St.

When: Wednesday; Film (Rated PG-13) begins at 7 p.m. followed by discussion

Tickets: $35

Box Office: 226-7372 or nvoh.org