Charles Aznavour to honor International Balloon Festival

YEREVAN, AUGUST 5, ARMENPRESS: The world famous French Armenian chansonnier Charles Aznavour will take part in the International Balloon Festival to be held in Canada on August 17. As reported by Armenpress, this was published by Montgolfieres, the official website of the Festival. The Festival is being held every year in August in the city of Saint-Jean-Sur-Richelieu of Quebec, Canada. In 2013 the International Balloon Festival will take place on August 10-18.

“Many great artists have graced the stage at the International Balloon Festival, but few of those can compare to the masterCharles Aznavour”, - says the website. It was over 65 years ago that he was noticed by a singer named Edith Piaf, who offered to tour together as a duo in France and overseas. That's when the love story between Quebec and Charles Aznavour started, still as strong today.

Author, composer, performer, actor – he was named "Variety Artist of the Century” in 1998 by Time magazine and CNN, above personalities such as Bob Dylan and Elvis Presley. A man of many words, he has composed more than a thousand songs, some interpreted into six different languages, and he has sold over one hundred million albums worldwide.

Armenian chansonnier, singer, composer, film actor and social activist Charles Aznavour (Shahan Vaghinak Aznavouryan) was born in Paris in 1924 to a family of Armenian migrants Mikayel and Knar Aznavouryans. As a young man he was fond of theatre, but in 1940s he started to give performances in cabaret with Pierre Roche.

Besides being one of France's most popular and enduring singers, he is also one of the best-known singers in the world. Aznavour is known for his unique tenor voice: clear and ringing in its upper reaches, with gravelly and profound low notes. He has appeared in more than sixty movies, composed about a thousand songs (including at least 150 in English, 100 in Italian, 70 in Spanish, and 50 in German), and sold well over 100 million records.

Artists who have recorded his songs and collaborated with Aznavour include Édith Piaf, Fred Astaire, Frank Sinatra (Aznavour was one of the rare European singers invited to duet with him), Andrea Bocelli, Bing Crosby, Ray Charles, Bob Dylan (he named Aznavour among the greatest live performers he's ever seen), Liza Minnelli, Elton John, Dalida, Serge Gainsbourg, Josh Groban, Petula Clark, Shirley Bassey, José Carreras, Laura Pausini, Nana Mouskouri and Julio Iglesias. Fellow French pop legend Mireille Mathieu has sung and recorded with Aznavour on numerous occasions. In 1974, Jack Jones recorded an entire album of Aznavour compositions entitled "Write Me A Love Song, Charlie", re-released on CD in 2006. Aznavour and Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti sang Gounod's aria Ave Maria together. He performed with famed Russian cellist and friend Mstislav Rostropovich to inaugurate the French presidency of the European Union in 1995.