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After nearly six years away from the concert stage, Céline Dion returned Saturday night with a fitting message: “On ne change pas”– we don’t change.
The Quebec superstar opened her show before nearly 33,000 people at the Plenitude Arena in Nanterre, outside Paris, marking an emotional comeback after what she described as a “rocky road.”
Dion thrilled the crowd with a two-and-a-half-hour performance that began about 40 minutes late, revisiting her career and some of her biggest hits, including “My Heart Will Go On,” “J’irai où tu iras” and “Pour que tu m’aimes encore.”
She delivered powerful vocal performances throughout the night despite the health challenges she has faced. Fans who had travelled from around the world greeted her return with sustained applause as she wiped away tears.
“Thank you so much! I had promised myself I wouldn’t cry. I don’t keep my promises,” Dion told the crowd after her first song. “I missed this!”
Saturday night marked the beginning of a series of 26 performances at the Plenitude Arena this fall and next spring.
Dion’s last tour was cancelled in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and in 2022 she revealed that she was suffering from stiff-person syndrome, a rare autoimmune disease that prevented her from returning to the stage at the time.
Although the singer gave a moving performance at the 2024 Paris Olympics of “Hymne à l’amour” that lit up the Eiffel Tower, these will be her first full concerts in six years. Another 10 shows are scheduled for next year.
A number of celebrities attended Saturday night’s performance, including former U.S. first lady Michelle Obama.
The concert moved through several different sections, some more emotional, with stripped-down piano-and-vocal performances, and others more festive and upbeat.
“Can you hear my heart beating?” Dion asked as “Destin” came to an end. “I am standing in this city that I love so much thanks to your support, your love.”
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She thanked the audience before launching into “Because You Loved Me” as a tribute.
Dion spoke several times about the autoimmune disease she lives with and her determination to fight so she could sing and perform on stage again.
“I learned to live with this fragility,” Dion told the crowd. “By living alongside it, I learned to tame it. I turned it into my strength to live.”
She danced as she performed “Ne bouge pas,” “Dans un autre monde” and “I’m Alive.” She also surprised the crowd with a cover of Eurythmics’ “Sweet Dreams.”
Short set and costume changes took place throughout the show, accompanied by videos of Dion walking through the desert or dancing.
Throughout the concert, Dion was accompanied by musicians and backup singers, as well as musical director Scott Price, who has worked with her for nearly a decade.
She shared the stage with two of her backup singers during “J’irai où tu iras” and “Beauty and the Beast.” Despite some rumours, no other guests appeared on stage Saturday night.
She also sang “All By Myself” and “Un garçon pas comme les autres (Ziggy),” which drew particularly emotional reactions from the audience.
But perhaps the performance that made the biggest impression Saturday night was her rendition of the operatic aria “La Wally.”
Wearing a long pink coat, Dion stepped onto a large, rock-shaped pedestal and performed the classical piece as snowflakes fell from the arena ceiling.
Dion herself appeared deeply moved afterward, thanking the audience and saying that performing the piece was “a dream” for her.
Some Canadian fans made it to the show.
Frédérique Lauzon and Alexandrine Derome, two Montreal-based flight attendants, snagged last-minute tickets during a layover.
For Derome, it was her 24th time attending a Dion performance.
“I’ve seen her in Las Vegas, Montreal, Quebec City, Paris, and during the tapings of special TV shows in Montreal,” Derome said before the performance.
Dion closed the concert with some of her best-known French-language classics, including “Pour que tu m’aimes encore” and “S’il suffisait d’aimer,” as the crowd sang along.
“Des milliers de baisers” was the final song of the night.
Between songs, Dion repeatedly took time to speak directly to her fans.
She reminded them of the importance of dreaming big and paying attention to the people around them and what they may be going through, echoing her own experience.
“I love you. Take care of yourselves,” she repeated several times as she blew kisses into the crowd.
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