Celine Dion overcomes vocal struggles to wow Paris with French repertoire

Paris awaited Celine Dion’s return to the stage at the weekend with mounting excitement after her six-year absence from live performance. Fans gathered daily outside her hotel near the Champs-Élysées, where she is thought to have reserved some 50 rooms for her entourage including three sons, musicians and medical attendants.Dion’s long absence from live performance has been due to ill-health. A rare neurological disorder, Stiff Person Syndrome, which has various symptoms and can affect a person’s singing voice, forced her to cancel shows in 2023 and 2024, while she had called off a tour in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.A jubilant crowd of 30,000 clapped and cheered on Saturday evening as they waited out a delayed starting time for the first show of her residency at the Plénitude Arena. Among them were Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey, French media reported, alongside a constellation of French celebrities and politicians.READ MOREDion’s opening song, On Ne Change Pas, a nostalgic meditation on the passing of time that was her follow-up to an album that remains the best-selling French-language album in history, D’eux, set the tone for a show that focused on her French-language repertoire.She spoke to the crowd of how much it meant to her to return to the stage in Paris, where she found fame with songs in her native language before she was recognised by the English-speaking world.Dion (58) was visibly emotional as she thanked the crowd for their support, telling them the journey had been “rocky” and “longer than expected”.[ Céline Dion ‘doesn’t have control over her muscles’ due to illness, says sisterOpens in new window ]Her singing voice showed signs of strain, but the goodwill of the crowd swept her along and she soon hit her stride.Dion is set to perform three shows a week at the arena in September and October before returning in May. The run is expected to bring an economic boon to Paris estimated to reach as much as €1.5 billion, as concertgoers book out restaurants and hotels.Celine Dion fans sing along to her songs prior to her first residency concert in Nanterre, Paris, on Saturday. Paris: Mohammed Badra/EPA There was enormous interest in how Dion had overcome her health challenges, which was the focus of a 2024 documentary. Some 9 million pre-registrations were made for 480,000 tickets, which were priced from €89.50 to €1,500 and above for special packages.Wearing matching Celine Dion T-shirts, fans Seán and Martine from Belfast (both 36) said they had spent just over £1,000 on tickets and got engaged on the trip.“I love her, we’re not wearing these T-shirts for the craic,” said Seán, while Martine described the concert as “unbelievable”. [ My personality type, he told me, is shared with Mao Zedong, Celine Dion and SatanOpens in new window ]Another fan, Charlotte, who had travelled from Los Angeles for the show and declined to give her surname, said she was struck by how many young women were in attendance singing along with every word.“As she started to warm up, she started to hit her notes. It was absolutely beautiful,” said Charlotte, dressed in a black sequinned catsuit.“I was supposed to see her in 2020, and she cancelled her tour due to Covid. So we’re celebrating her here in Paris.”Dion treated her international audience at the show – estimated to make up roughly a third of the crowd – to English-language hits including the 1997 Titanic theme song My Heart Will Go On and a cover of Eurythmics’ Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This).Superfan Jonathan Kirkby, however, who has seen Dion five times and has another ticket for next week, was not quite won over.He attended the show with his husband to mark their anniversary, as their first date was at a Dion concert 17 years ago.“She was amazing. She held the stage. Vocally, eight out of 10. She wasn’t quite what she used to be, but you can see she really gave it her all, and she definitely warmed up,” the Londoner said.Celine Dion fans wear masks of the singer while queuing for the concert in Nanterre, Paris, on Saturday evening. Photograph: Mohammed Badra/EPA “We don’t know the French songs. It was quite hard to connect with her,” Kirkby said. “It just wasn’t as enjoyable as the shows I’ve seen before. We left early.”Dion performed a song at the Paris Olympics closing ceremony in 2024.