CELINE DION’S DEVOTION TO FAMILY—AND NOW HER SHOW—KEEPS HER GROUNDED
When life lays you low, art can lift you up. On the stage of the Colosseum at Caesars Palace, one woman is lifting herself. And carrying us with her.
“I have missed you very much, your applause, your cheers,” Celine Dion told fans recently on the night she ended her yearlong absence from their lives. “But I did not miss your love because I knew I always had it.”
At the urging of her throat cancer-ravaged husband, Rene Angelil—she put her career on hold to care for him—Dion returned to resume her superstar showcase and wow the faithful. As Angelil watched from their home via a live camera feed, before the show his devoted wife discussed how she has coped with her family’s misfortune.
“My three children and my wonderful husband wanted me to be here because I’m not quite sure if I was ready to be here.”
Yet the lady proves otherwise. Elegantly she strides toward us in a sun-bright, floor-length gown before a full orchestra. After she delivers a rousing “I Surrender,” rapturous fans roar, on their feet, some not to take their seats again for nearly two hours.
“I’m trying to stay as grounded as possible. I want to show my (three) children that sickness is part of life, and I have their backs. We got this. We’re doing this. It’s OK. And you cannot be crying and depressed and constantly talk about, ‘Oh my God,’ you know?”
Vintage Dion footage flows across video screens and years peel away as she performs “Where Does My Heart Beat Now,” followed by “Because You Loved Me,” “It’s All Coming Back to Me Now” and “The Power of Love,” the circumstances of her life infusing them with pathos.
“The songs have meaning now. I sang them but now I mean it. To me they will become different songs. The words will become alive more than ever before.”
Alone on a stool, as she delicately interprets “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face,” film of her family enjoying private time unspools behind her. Crowd cheers erupt when Angelil’s face pops up. Queen’s “The Show Must Go On” is her articulation of the night’s theme. After “I’m Alive,” she says, simply: “I love you, Rene.” Again, the crowd screams.
When life lays you low, art can lift you up. On the stage of the Colosseum at Caesars Palace, one woman is lifting herself. And carrying us with her.
“I have missed you very much, your applause, your cheers,” Celine Dion told fans recently on the night she ended her yearlong absence from their lives. “But I did not miss your love because I knew I always had it.”
At the urging of her throat cancer-ravaged husband, Rene Angelil—she put her career on hold to care for him—Dion returned to resume her superstar showcase and wow the faithful. As Angelil watched from their home via a live camera feed, before the show his devoted wife discussed how she has coped with her family’s misfortune.
“My three children and my wonderful husband wanted me to be here because I’m not quite sure if I was ready to be here.”
Yet the lady proves otherwise. Elegantly she strides toward us in a sun-bright, floor-length gown before a full orchestra. After she delivers a rousing “I Surrender,” rapturous fans roar, on their feet, some not to take their seats again for nearly two hours.
“I’m trying to stay as grounded as possible. I want to show my (three) children that sickness is part of life, and I have their backs. We got this. We’re doing this. It’s OK. And you cannot be crying and depressed and constantly talk about, ‘Oh my God,’ you know?”
Vintage Dion footage flows across video screens and years peel away as she performs “Where Does My Heart Beat Now,” followed by “Because You Loved Me,” “It’s All Coming Back to Me Now” and “The Power of Love,” the circumstances of her life infusing them with pathos.
“The songs have meaning now. I sang them but now I mean it. To me they will become different songs. The words will become alive more than ever before.”
Alone on a stool, as she delicately interprets “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face,” film of her family enjoying private time unspools behind her. Crowd cheers erupt when Angelil’s face pops up. Queen’s “The Show Must Go On” is her articulation of the night’s theme. After “I’m Alive,” she says, simply: “I love you, Rene.” Again, the crowd screams.
“(He’s) passing along his strength to me. We have talked about things. I’m being heard many times, through my interviews, through my songs. It’s time for him to be heard. This is his time and it’s going to be the way he wants it to be.”
Beyond moments of personal emotional resonance, Dion treats us to a flat-out good time. Duets with holographic Sinatra and Elvis. Prince’s “Kiss” and “Purple Rain.” Wading into the crowd to press fan flesh—connecting with her de facto extended family that remains bonded to her through the tough times and the good times.
“There are a lot of people who are alone struggling with battles. I think that would be the worst. When you have family around you, I think that helps tremendously.”
With an impeccable rendition of “My Heart Will Go On” and an achingly gorgeous “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” the soft-spoken, golden-voiced chanteuse brings her return to a touching, misty-eyed climax. Before it all, Celine Dion had gazed into the camera’s red light at the back of the Colosseum and addressed the man she loves, urging him to do what we all just did.
“Promise me something—just enjoy, just enjoy.”
