Franco Dragone

Franco Dragone (12 December 1952 – 30 September 2022) was an Italian-born Belgian theatre director. He was the founder and artistic director of Dragone, a creative company specializing in the creation of large-scale theatre shows. He was also known for his work with Celine Dion. He died from a severe chest infection in Cairo, Egypt, on 30 September 2022 at the age of 69.

Early life He was born in 1952 in Cairano, a small town in southern Italy. He remembers that being an "artist" was not treated seriously by the mining community in La Louvière. His father, however, was broad-minded and enrolled him in a liberal lycée. As a student, he was taught a wide range of topics and was allowed to choose his field of interest. He chose the arts.

From the years 1985 to 1998, Dragone would direct nearly all of Cirque du Soleil's most prestigious shows and played a significant role in developing Cirque du Soleil's distinctive merging of theater and circus performance. In the early 1990s, his reputation grew with the production of Nouvelle Expérience and Saltimbanco, nontraditional circus productions in which postmodern dance, music, and circus acrobatics were interlaced with a dreamlike narrative. In 1999 Dragone directed the music video for Lara Fabian's song "Adagio".

Dragone Group In 2000, he amicably split from Cirque du Soleil and formed his own company called the Franco Dragone Entertainment Group (later shortened to "Dragone"), based in his hometown of La Louvière in Belgium. In 2003, Dragone created A New Day... starring Céline Dion at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.

In 2005, he debuted his fourth production on the Las Vegas Strip with the opening of Le Rêve at the Wynn Las Vegas. This show used performers mainly from disciplines related to gymnastics. He also worked on an adaption of the Divine Comedy with composer Ennio Morricone.

Dragone in Macau and Dubai In 2010, building on his previous experience using aquatic stages in O and Le Rêve,

In 2012, his new cabaret Taboo: The Show Naughty and Naughtier premiered at City of Dreams.

On 29 March 2012, he was awarded a doctor honoris causa degree for general merits by the University of Antwerp, in recognition of his innovative and cosmopolitan approach to theatre.

In 2012, Belgian authorities investigated his business group for "serious and organized international tax offenses" and money laundering. The group's offices in La Louvière, as well as his home, the homes of the group's CEO, its CFO, and a former employee, were raided in October 2012 as part of the investigation. The Belgian investigating office suspected Dragone of fraudulently using a global network of shell companies to conceal assets in offshore tax havens to avoid paying taxes. In a press conference addressing the investigation in January 2013, he claimed that the purpose of setting up this international structure had not been to commit fraud, but to avoid double or triple taxation by different countries. He added that he was ready to change his business' structure to provide more transparency. On January 12, 2024, after 12 years of investigations, he was posthumously found not guilty of all charges of fiscal fraud and was completely exonerated. Despite the extensive media coverage during the investigation, the announcement of his exoneration received little attention.

In early 2013, he produced,

In 2014, he opened The Han Show in Wuhan, China, celebrating the essence of the Han culture. The Han Show Theater, designed by Mark Fisher and inspired by the traditional red Chinese lantern, is 60 meters high, 100 meters in diameter and houses more than 2000 seats. In spring 2015, he created a new show in Paris for the cabaret Le Lido, titled Paris Merveilles. In 2016, he directed a new show featuring Russian pop icon Philipp Kirkorov called (, 'I'), which premiered in the Kremlin Palace on 16 March.

In 2017, and during its first year he "continually tweaked and improved" the show.

By September 2017, around 100 million people had seen Dragone's work. 2015 Paris Merveilles at Le Lido in Paris, France The Dai Show in Xishuangbanna, China 2017 La Perle at Al Habtoor City, Dubai Я (Ya) for Philipp Kirkorov

Other 1985: La vente aux enchères, Cirque du Trottoir 1986: Eldorado, Compagnie des Mutants 1987: Les Communs des Mortels, a Compagnie du Campus and Collectif 1984 coproduction 1987: Flic, Flac, Compagnie des Funambules (Belgium) 1987: La tête dans le si bémol, with Michel Dallaire and Pierre Lafontaine 1992: La ballade de l'homme gris, Compagnie du Campus 1993: Pomp, Duck, Circumstance, Düsseldorf 1996: Poussière du temps, Compagnie du Campus 2015: Paris Merveilles, cabaret Lido de Paris 2016: Cagnasse tutto, Foja at Teatro di San Carlo, Naples