Francesca Gagnon

Infobox musical artist
Name = Francesca Gagnon


Img_capt =
Img_size =
Landscape =
Background = solo_singer
Birth_name =
Born = August 6, 1957
Died =
Origin =
Instrument =
Genre = World music
Occupation = singer
Years_active =
Label = Galios Musique
Associated_acts = Cirque Du Soleil's "Alegría" and "Midnight Sun"
URL = [http://www.francescagagnon.com Official website]
Notable_instruments =

Francesca Gagnon (born August 6, 1957) is a French-Canadian singer and theatre actress featured in Cirque Du Soleil's "Alegría" and "Midnight Sun". During her career of more than two decades, she has recorded several solo albums and toured three continents singing in French, Italian and Spanish.

Background

Born in Saguenay, Quebec, Canada, Francesca Gagnon began studying piano and dance from the age of ten. This interest in the arts carried over into adulthood where she continued her study of music at the University of Quebec. Her first musical performances were on television, followed by live solo performances in Quebec, Europe and Africa. In 1986, after recording her first album, Francesca received a Juno Award nomination for "Most Promising Female Vocalist of the Year". [cite news|page=D7|title=A night for sequins and heart-throbs|date=1986-11-11|publisher=The Globe and Mail|first=Deirdre|last=Kelly]

In 1994, Francesca joined Cirque du Soleil's "Alegría" troupe. She featured as the principal vocalist on "Alegría"'s soundtrack, which went on to become Cirque du Soleil's best-selling album.cite web|title=Music - Alegría - Official soundtrack|url=http://www.cirquedusoleil.com/CirqueDuSoleil/en/Music/Soundtracks/alegria.htm|publisher=Cirque du Soleil|accessdate=2007-10-28] It was nominated for a Grammy Award and several Félix Awards in 1995, winning two of the latter. "Alegría" was also ranked on the Billboard World Music Chart for 65 weeks.

Francesca continued touring with "Alegría" and starred as 'The White Singer' in the 2001 DVD recorded live in Sydney, Australia.cite web|title=Music and Vocalists - Alegría|publisher=The Cirque Tribune|url=http://www.cirquetribune.com/music/alegria.html|accessdate=2007-10-28] During this period, she also performed with the troupe on The Tonight Show and before Prince Charles at the Royal Albert Hall in England. [ [http://www.quebecpop.com/MenuPrincipal2.htm Alternate Menu ] ] Although she left Cirque in 2002 to resume her solo career, Francesca returned to sing "Alegría"'s title track at the 25th anniversary of the Montreal Jazz Festival in 2004. [ [http://www.playbackmag.com/articles/magazine/20040830/cirque.html?print=yes Playback :: Cirque sells street show to Germany, France ] ] That concert, directed by Michel Lemieux and Victor Pilon, has been released on DVD as Cirque Du Soleil's "Midnight Sun".

Since returning to her solo career, she released her newest album "Hybride" in 2005 after two years of production. On the album, Francesca sings in a language of her own creation inspired by the musical tones of different languages. The reasoning behind this was that she "wanted to transport us to a world where the language exists on a universal level without any border of race, country or words." [http://www.lestudio1.com/MagazineEnglish3.html]

= Selected Discography [cite web|title=Francesca Gagnon|publisher=Le Parolier|url=http://www.leparolier.org/quebecois/classartistes/f/francescagagnon.htm|language=French|accessdate=2007-10-28] =

= Filmography [imdb name|id=1385089] =

References

External links

* [http://www.francescagagnon.com Francesca Gagnon's official website]
* [http://www.cirquedusoleil.com/CirqueDuSoleil/en/showstickets/alegria/intro/intro.htm Cirque du Soleil - "Alegría" official website]