Americans know Philippe Petit as the man who bridged the Twin Towers on a high wire in 1974. But “le coup,” as Petit calls the event, marks only one chapter in a lifetime of performance, expression and mystery. In anticipation of his lecture today, at 5:30 p.m. in Statler Auditorium, the Sun spoke with Petit, who explained the intentions of his work and imagined walking a tightrope across Ithaca’s gorges.