Paris, Sept 14. (dpa/GNA) – Céline Dion made her long-awaited return to the stage before tens of thousands of fans in Paris on Saturday, performing her first concert in six years with tears streaming down her face.
The 58-year-old Canadian, who has rarely performed live in recent years, opened with “On Ne Change Pas” (“We Don’t Change”) and was visibly moved throughout, wiping tears from her face. “I promised myself I wouldn’t cry,” Dion said, adding that she was not keeping that promise.
At the sold-out Plenitude Arena near Paris, she told the crowd: “Tonight, I want to sing for you, sing for myself, sing for life.” Fans had travelled from across Europe to attend.
Dion suffers from stiff-person syndrome, a rare autoimmune disease that meant her ability to travel or perform depended on how she was feeling on any given day.
She announced her return to the concert stage earlier this year. “I’m feeling good, I’m strong, I’m feeling excited, obviously, of course, a little nervous,” she said when announcing her comeback shows.
Dion is one of the most successful singers of her generation, having sold more than 200 million albums. Her biggest hits include “My Heart Will Go On” and “I’m Alive.”
GNA