Franco Dragone, the Italian-born Belgian impresario who devised Macao’s sensational The House of Dancing Water extravaganza, has died of a heart attack in Cairo at the age of 69.
In a career that spanned four decades, Dragone put together dozens of ground-breaking shows worldwide, stunning audiences with his imagination, originality and showmanship.
His first great achievement was masterminding the legendary Cirque du Soleil, which brilliantly merged theatre with a circus performance. However many regards his conception of The House of Dancing Water, which premiered in City of Dreams in September 2010, as one of his most stupendous creations.
With 70 artists dancing, swimming and performing acrobatics, the one-of-a-kind, jaw-dropping show incorporated a medley of design elements such as fire, water effects and atmospheric elements.
Two years later, Dragone staged his new cabaret Taboo: The Show Naughty and Naughtier in Cotai.
And in 2014, Dragone opened The Han Show in Wuhan, celebrating the essence of Han culture.
Altogether, it was estimated that more than 100 million people witnessed Dragone’s work in his lifetime.
A statement posted on Dragone’s website thanked the public for sending their condolences to “a titan of entertainment”, urged the continuation of his legacy and added a quote: “Every little thing, even the most trivial, can be reinvented with imagination, as if it were seen through the eyes of a child”.
