CELINE DION’S SPOT AMONG LAS VEGAS’ PERFORMING LEGENDS

THE KATS REPORT: A COLOSSEUM RETURN REINFORCES CELINE DION’S SPOT AMONG LAS VEGAS’ PERFORMING LEGENDS

Many years ago, in May 2002 to be exact, Celine Dion was part of a lineup of female superstars in a VHI Divas Las Vegas show at MGM Grand Garden Arena, taking the stage alongside Cher, Mary J. Blige, the Dixie Chicks, Shakira, Stevie Nicks, Whitney Houston, Anastacia and Cyndi Lauper.

Ellen DeGeneres, her star rising, was the host that night. It was a moment caught in time, and the Celine of that night was not the Celine of today, still several months away from her opening at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace, still under construction in preparation for its March 2003 unveiling.

In a pairing with Anastacia, Celine covered “You Shook Me (All Night Long)” by AC/DC. Later, Cher donned a black wig and leather jacket to evoke Elvis and “Heartbreak Hotel,” performing a nearly spot-on impression of the King. As I wrote that night, Cher then fired a grin and thumbs-up sign at Celine, who closed with Elvis’ “Can’t Help Falling in Love.”

Looking back on that event, it’s clear now who among any lineup of performers can rightfully stand with Elvis in Vegas. It is Celine, and she summons the image of the King in a very convincing fashion during her updated show at the Colosseum.

Instead of wearing an Elvis suit and wig and swiveling through, say, “Hound Dog,” Celine summons the King in hologram form. He’s dressed in the familiar white, Western-fashioned suit, singing from his 1968 comeback special aired on NBC, several months before he would headline at the International in Vegas. The surreal and effective image of Elvis and the real-life Celine swap lines on “If I Can Dream,” and the moment makes you understand why Celine belongs on the highest plane of Strip legends.

She seems confident that she can deliver, not only in her performance but also in stature. Earlier in the show she sings with another legend who long made Vegas his playground, Frank Sinatra, for “All the Way,” and that moment, too, feels right. A lesser performer would be accused of trying to coattail the performances of long-lost legends to boost a stage show. Not so with Celine.

This consistently hot-selling and roundly applauded residency at the Colosseum is stronger than ever. More than 13 years have passed, and Celine is closing in on 1,000 shows. She has battled mightily, impressively and publicly through her husband René Angélil’s throat cancer and ongoing treatment. As she made clear in interviews before her return to the stage on August 27, Angélil is not improving, has been fed through a tube for two years and has told his wife that he wishes to die in her arms.

This version of Celine’s show is as personally rooted as any production you’ll witness on the Strip. Six video screens hang over the stage as Celine recites her journey to Las Vegas, using footage of her kids (14-year-old René-Charles and the couple’s 4-year-old twins, Nelson and Eddy). Celine once employed dozens of Cirque-styled dancers scrambling across a tilted stage to convey her message. But not today, as she is always at the center, even with the video boost and the presence of an entire orchestra. Celine carries the performance, even amid personal trauma that took her offstage for more than a year.

Her return, then, has been something of a legendary effort. There’s no genre or music styling outside her mind-blowing range. Queen’s “The Show Must Go On,” Tina Turner’s “River Deep, Mountain High” and Prince’s “Kiss” and “Purple Rain” are intertwined with her own “Power of Love” (performed early in the show) and “My Heart Will Go On” (at the end, just before the show-closing “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”). Twice during her show her voice wavered, during the cover of Roberta Flack’s “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” and Eric Carmen’s “All By Myself.”

As Celine sang through those songs you could hear sniffling in the audience, and even feel yourself welling up a bit. But she soldiered on and delivered another show for the ages, because that’s what legends do. Divas, they come and go. But over time, Celine Dion has remained, and she has earned her spot at the top.

Lasvegasweekly