Denise Truscello/WireImageAfter putting her career on hold last year to care for her husband, Rene Angelil, who’s battling cancer, Celine Dion returned to her residency at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas Thursday night.
At a pre-show press conference, Dion explained despite her husband’s continuing battle, she went back to work because her family urged her to. “So my three children and my wonderful husband wanted me to be here. Because I’m not quite sure if I wanted to be here tonight,” the multiple Grammy winner admitted.
Although exactly half of the questions were asked and answered in Dion’s native French, the ones in English were primarily about her family and how they’re coping with Angelil’s health. Her answers were almost universally in praise of the strength of her family, with one notable exception coming when a reporter, trying to complement the singer’s hair, compared it to that of a Kardashian. The compliment did not go over well with Celine or her people.
Dion performed for an hour and 50 minutes on the Caesars Palace Stage. The set has changed since her last performances, but she says even some familiar love songs have taken on new meaning in light of her husband’s illness. “I have been singing them for so long. And now ‘Power of Love’ and ‘Because You Loved Me’ and ‘Incredible’ and all — I sang them, but now I mean it.”
The show itself started more than 35 minutes late, and ran for an hour an fifty minutes. It opened with a video of Celine fans from around the world lip-syncing “I Drove All Night,” after which the diva then took the stage for her first number, “I Surrender.”
Over the course of the evening, the backing band took on various sizes, from a high of 29 to a low of three, and the singer changed wardrobe five times. During many of those changes, members of Celine’s band performed without her, with the horn section even performing in the aisles at one point.
Even the largest parts of the production were small compared to Celine’s first run at Caesars Palace. But there were particularly intimate segments where she performed with a jazz trio, and again with a four-piece acoustic band sitting on stools. The latter required a bit of improvisation, when her guitarist unexpectedly left the stage to tune up -– the only real glitch in the show.
Celine also did three duets with video screens of The Bee Gees, Frank Sinatra and Elvis — and despite predictions of more original material this time around, she still indulged in plenty of covers, including a pair of Prince songs.
Despite the emotions surrounding her husband’s illness, it was only referred to twice during the show. The first came during “The First Time.” As home movies played on a video screen, the largest audience applause came when he appeared. Later, during an acoustic performance of “I’m Alive,” Celine shouted “I love you, Rene!” to her husband, who was reportedly watching the show and the concert via a private video feed.
The encore began with the predicable “My Heart Will Go On,” during which Celine was raised on an elevated platform inside a rotating waterfall. She then told the crowd, in part, “Tonight was not a new day. Tonight was not a new show. Tonight was a new beginning.” From there, Dion launched into the evening’s final song: “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.”
Here’s the full set list:
“I Surrender”
“Where Does My Heart Beat Now?”
“Because You Loved Me”
“It’s All Coming Back to Me Now”
“The Power of Love”
“Sing Sing Sing”
“Paganini”
“Quand Ca Balance”
“The First Time”
“Beauty and the Beast”
“Will It Go Round in Circle”
“Immortality”
“All the Way”
“If I Can Dream”
“A New Day Has Come”
“That’s The Way It Is”
“I’m Alive”
“Incredible”
“Love Can Move Mountains”
“River Deep, Mountain High”
“All By Myself”
“Show Must Go On”
“Uptown Funk Medley”
“Kiss”
“Purple Rain”
“My Heart Will Go On”
“Somewhere Over the Rainbow”
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