Galas and ceremonies are not really Diane Dufresne’s cup of tea, who prefers to take the stage to offer her songs. So when the phone rang in March and she was told she would be inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame at a big event, the great entertainer raised a dubious eyebrow. Oh, flattered she was, but hey. “It was as a French-speaking Quebecer that I found it interesting,” she says.
Indeed, Diane Dufresne will officially become next Thursday the first artist singing in French to appear on the list headed by the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the organization that also handles the Juno awards. The interpreter ofOxygen will be dubbed in the company of pianist Oliver Jones, singer Terri Clark and groups Trooper and Nickelback.
“Luc Plamondon was, inducted”, underlines Mme Dufresne. Just like English-speaking Quebecers, including Leonard Cohen and Daniel Lanois, or delivering instrumental music, like Oscar Peterson.
The attachment to Quebec of the one who placed the breasts painted with two fleur-de-lys on the cover ofApart from that, I feel good, in 1973, is well known. “I am still very proud that Quebec in French is truly my identity. And that motivated me” to welcome this new award from Rest of Canada. But Diane Dufresne is not fooled: apart from the country’s Francophones, “they don’t know me”.
The singer, who speaks with emotion of the referendums — “it would have been so wonderful to get there” — worries about the fate of French in Quebec, which she says is in trouble, even if she understands the appeal of language of Shakespeare for younger generations. “English is still important, it’s an international language. But the French language is still the language of poetry, we must not forget that. It’s an artistic language, it’s a more complicated language. »
If Diane Dufresne left her mark in France and represented Quebec in several countries of the world, she never tried to break through in Canada, she explains. Already, she is not very comfortable with English — “it’s not my thing”. She says all the same to have recorded discs in London and Los Angeles, in addition to having worked in New York. ” I manage. »
But for the ceremony which takes place Thursday at the National Music Center in Calgary, Diane Dufresne warned the organizers that they would be the ones who would have to manage, because she has every intention of speaking French, whether during interviews or during his speech. “Otherwise, I won’t be able to say exactly what I want. »
On this subject, the great lady, now 78 years old, has a few ideas in mind for her thanks. “I have lines planned, of course, because when I watch parties like that and see people talking for so long…it sucks! “Diane Dufresne intends in particular to underline the important contribution of her entourage in “her profession, which is show business”. She will “with pleasure” thank creators of all kinds, from make-up artists to authors and fashion designers: “We don’t do this alone, except if we sing in the metro! “An idea that she also admits to having the taste to try, a bit like an artistic performance.
During the gala, Mr.me Dufresne will perform a song from his repertoire, Share the angels, written by Roger Tabra and which depicts the relationship between the artist and the public. She will be accompanied for the occasion by pianist Olivier Godin, who already accompanies her on stage during her current series of talk shows entitled On appointment. “I sing this one because I thought that maybe not everyone will understand French, and it’s a fairly lyrical piece, so it counts. “Music as a universal language, what.
Diane Dufresne, who simmers musical and visual arts projects, will therefore rise to the Canadian Music Hall of Fame on Thursday in a mixture of humility, honor and respect, but without ever apologizing for being what she is. she was and what she remains. And of the Francophones inducted into this institution, “there will be others. I hope there will be others, and that it will take less time!