Diane Dufresne, (born 30 September 1944) is a

French Canadian French Canadians (referred to as Canadiens mainly before the twentieth century; french: Canadiens français, ; feminine form: , ), or Franco-Canadians (french: Franco-Canadiens), refers to either an ethnic group who trace their ancestry to Fren ...

singer Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

and painter, and is known for singing a large repertoire of popular Quebec songs. Dufresne was born in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

, Quebec, Canada. She lived in Paris from 1965 to 1967 where she studied voice with Jean Lumière and dramatic art with Françoise Rosay. While there, she performed in noted ''boîte à chansons'' such as l'Écluse, l'Échelle de Jacob, and le Caveau de la Bolée. On her return to Montreal, she began a collaboration with composer , and lyricist

Luc Plamondon Luc Plamondon, OC, CQ (b. March 2, 1942 in Saint-Raymond, Quebec), is a French-Canadian lyricist and music executive. He is best known for his work on the musicals ''Starmania'' and ''Notre-Dame de Paris''. He is the brother of Louis Plamondo ...

. In March 2019, she was one of 11 singers from Quebec, alongside

Ginette Reno Ginette Reno (born Ginette Raynault; 28 April 1946) is a Canadian author, composer, singer, and actress. She has received nominations for the Genie and Gemini Awards and is a multi-recipient of the Juno Award. She is a gold and platinum selli ...

Céline Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion ( ; born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Noted for her powerful and technically skilled vocals, Dion is the best-selling Canadian recording artist, and the best-selling French-language artist of all time. Her ...

, Isabelle Boulay,

Luce Dufault Luce Dufault (born August 19, 1966 in Orleans, Ontario) is a Canadian singer. She is of French descent. She performed in two musicals from Luc Plamondon, La Légende de Jimmy and Starmania. She recorded a few hits including ''Soirs de scotc ...

Louise Forestier Louise Forestier (born Louise Belhumeur on August 10, 1942) is a Canadian singer, songwriter and actress. Biography Born in Shawinigan, Quebec, Canada, Forestier was trained in acting at the National Theatre School in Montreal, but it was as a ...

Laurence Jalbert Laurence Jalbert (born Lise Jalbert, 18 August 1959 in Rivière-au-Renard, Quebec) is a pop and rock singer-songwriter from Quebec. Background She began her career with the band Volt in 1985."Quebec singer's struggle pays off". '' Edmonton Jou ...

Catherine Major Catherine Major (born February 18, 1980) is a Canadian pop singer and songwriter from Quebec. She is most noted for her 2011 album ''Le désert des solitudes'', which was a Juno Award nominee for Francophone Album of the Year at the Juno Awards o ...

Ariane Moffatt Ariane Moffatt (born 26 April 1979) is a Canadian singer-songwriter. Known for working across multiple musical genres, Moffatt's music combines elements of electronica, jazz, folk, and pop. A francophone, she is bilingual and has recorded track ...

Marie Denise Pelletier Marie Denise Pelletier (born 3 April 1960) is a francophone Canadian singer. She served as President of Artisti, a copyright collective for music artists operated by Quebec's l'Union des artistes (UDA). Biography While studying literature and ...

and

Marie-Élaine Thibert Marie-Élaine Thibert (born April 18, 1982) is a Canadian adult contemporary and pop singer based in Quebec. Thibert was first notable for being the runner-up in the first season of Star Académie in 2003, the Quebec singing idol reality show. Sh ...

, who participated in a supergroup recording of

Renée Claude Renée Claude (born Renée Bélanger; July 3, 1939 – May 12, 2020) was a Canadian actress and singer Denise Ménard, Suzanne Thomas and Benoît L'Herbier"Renée Claude" ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'', January 20, 2010. who was known as an inter ...

's 1971 single "Tu trouveras la paix" after Claude's diagnosis with

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...

was announced.

Awards and recognition

* 1987 –

Félix Award The Félix Award (french: Trophée Félix or Prix Félix) is an award, given by the ''Association du disque, de l'industrie du spectacle québécois'' ( ADISQ) on an annual basis to artists working in the music and humor industry in the Canadian ...

, best pop show: Top Secret * 2001 –

Governor General's Performing Arts Award A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

, Canada's highest honour in the performing arts * 2002 – Made a knight of the

National Order of Quebec The National Order of Quebec, termed officially in French as ''l'Ordre national du Québec'', and in English abbreviation as the Order of Quebec, is an order of merit in the Canadian province of Quebec. Instituted in 1984 when Lieutenant Governo ...

* 2006 – Félix Hommage for her lifetime achievements * 2008 –

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon, ...

by France * 2015 – Appointed as a member of the Order of Canada

Discography

* 1969 – ''L'initiation'' * 1972 – ''Tiens-toé ben, j'arrive'' * 1973 – ''À part de d'ça, j'me sens ben'' * 1974 – ''12 succès pop'' * 1975 – ''Sur la même longueur d'ondes'' * 1975 – ''Mon premier show (en public)'' * 1977 – ''Maman, si tu m'voyais... tu s'rais fière de ta fille!'' * 1978 – ''Olympia '78, volume 1 et 2'' * 1978 – ''Starmania'' * 1979 – '' Starmania, le spectacle'' * 1979 – ''Striptease'' * 1982 – ''Turbulences'' * 1984 – ''Dioxine de carbone et son rayon rose'' * 1984 – ''Magie rose (en public)'' * 1985 – ''Chanteurs sans frontières'' (special participation) * 1986 – ''Follement vôtre'' * 1987 – ''Top secret'' * 1988 – ''Master série en 2 volumes'' (compilation album) * 1991 – ''Sans dessous dessus'' (compilation album) * 1993 – ''Détournement majeur'' * 1997 – ''Diane Dufresne'' * 2000 – ''Merci'' (compilation album: Quebec) * 2002 – ''Merci'' (compilation album: France) * 2005 – ''Diane Dufresne chante Kurt Weill'', with

Yannick Nézet-Séguin Yannick Nézet-Séguin, CC (; born Yannick Séguin;David Patrick Stearns, "Nezet-Seguin signs Philadelphia Orchestra contract". ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', 19 June 2010. 6 March 1975) is a Canadian ( Québécois) conductor and pianist. He ...

* 2007 – ''Effusions'', accompanied by Alain Lefèvre * 2018 – ''Meilleur Après''

Shows

* 1987 – Top Secret * 2002 – En liberté conditionnelle * 2004 – Symphonie de Kurt Weill (single concert) * 2006 – Plurielle en Quatre Tableaux

References

External links

*
''The Canadian Encyclopedia'': Diane Dufresne

Genealogy: Diane Dufresne
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dufresne, Diane 1944 births Living people French Quebecers Knights of the National Order of Quebec Artists from Montreal Singers from Montreal French-language singers of Canada Governor General's Performing Arts Award winners Canadian women pop singers Members of the Order of Canada 20th-century Canadian women singers 21st-century Canadian women singers Félix Award winners

Awards and recognition

Discography

Shows

See also

References

External links