Franco Dragone died at the age of 69 this Friday in Cairo following a heart attack, said Claudine Cornet, one of his former collaborators.
The Louviérois had gone to Egypt for professional reasons after attending last week the show “Decrocher la Lune” in the streets of La Louvière.
Several political figures reacted to the announcement of the death of Franco Dragone, emphasizing in particular his attachment to his city of La Louvière. “It is a real disaster for our city”, declared the mayor of La Louvière, Jacques Gobert. “He had given us this beautiful gift of mounting ‘Decrocher la lune’ a week ago”. On the occasion of the 8th edition of this urban opera bringing together some 850 actors and extras, Franco Dragone had put forward the idea of creating a museum “Decrocher la lune”.
“Franco Dragone was a very great director and director of breathtaking shows. A child of Wallonia, he returned to La Louvière so that the population could ‘get the moon'”, Walloon Minister-President Elio Di Rupo, born in the central region.
For the Minister of Culture in the Wallonia-Brussels Federation Bénédicte Linard, “it is a strong personality, a man of spectacle, a director with talent recognized throughout the world and who has always remained close to his city of La Louvière who left abruptly today”.
The mayor of Charleroi Paul Magnette hailed “an endearing man of great talent who made Wallonia shine in the world while remaining deeply faithful to his Italian and Louvierse roots”.
Born on December 12, 1952 in Vairano (Italy), he moved in with his parents in 1958 in La Louvière.
The director was particularly known for his Cirque du Soleil shows, which were very popular all over the world.
In 2000 in Las Vegas, singer Céline Dion discovered her work with wonder. A collaboration was born between the two artists and the Canadian superstar landed in La Louvière to rehearse his show.
Since 2012, the artist was the subject of a judicial investigation in Mons for tax evasion, money laundering and corruption. He was charged in December 2015. His death does not end the legal proceedings.
He was suffering from leukemia which he hoped to cure.