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THE SHOW
"Celine" is the second residency show by Celine Dion. The show is performed at the Colosseum of the Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA from 2011 to 2014, with an estimated 70 performances per year. The show ranked 26th in Pollstar´s "Top 50 Worldwide Tour (Mid-Year)", earning over 20 million dollars. Being seen by 230,000 people, the show became the number one show in 2011 (for North America). The show has also made Celine the "most profitable music act in Las Vegas" since Elvis Presley.
...> About The Show
Confirming the buzz that has been circulating for months, in February 2010 Celine Dion announced that she will be returning to Las Vegas in March 2011 to begin a three year residency at the Colosseum of the Caesars Palace. The brand-new show designed exclusively for the Colosseum premiered on March 15, 2011 and features 31 musicians, consisting of a full orchestra and band. The show´s concept is one-of-a-kind, centered on capturing the romance of classic Hollywood movies and performed with a stunning visual presentation. "I´m coming back home to the Colosseum at Caesars Palace and I´m very excited about it. With the orchestra and the band we´re going to be able to perform our songs like never before. The repertoire is going to be extraordinary... a mix of timeless Hollywood classics, along with all the favorites that my fans like to hear me sing. It´s going to be a very beautiful show, and I think we´ll be raising the bar higher than we´ve ever done before. There´ll be some truly wonderful moments. I can´t wait!", said Celine. The show is directed and produced by Ken Ehrlich with the creative production from Celine´s long time lighting designer, Yves Aucoin and sound mixer/designer, Dennis Savage. Moment Factory is producing the visual elements for the show (the company previously worked with Nine Inch Nails and DJ Tiesto). The show does not contain the dancers and Cirque du Soleil style choreography previously seen in Celine´s previous show at the Colosseum, "A New Day...". Celine announced her Vegas comeback during an appearance on "The Oprah Winfrey Show". Tickets went on sale that same week with extremely strong sales. The opening night show on March 15, 2011 was sold out within minutes. Rehearsals started on January 17, in Florida and on February 17, 2011 in Caesars Palace when Celine moved back to Vegas to begin preparations for the new show. Additionally, it was reported in January 2011 that ticket sales for the show had already passed the $10 million mark, marking the fastest sale in the history of the venue. Caesars Palace President, Gary Selesner stated that the first lot of shows through April 17, 2011 will be completely sold out.
...> The Colosseum
The Colosseum at the Caesars Palace is a contemporary interpretation of one of antiquity´s architectural wonders. Built at a cost of $95 million, the Colosseum is a striking landmark at the heart of the Las Vegas Strip. With seating for up to 4,300, the Colosseum is designed to accommodate stage shows of all varieties while providing audiences with an extraordinary entertainment experience. The Colosseum at Caesars Palace was recognized as Billboard magazine´s "Venue of the Decade: 2000-2009" in the category of venues with a capacity of 5,000 or less. The award was ranked by gross sales compiled from box office scores from December 1999 through November 2009. Since opening, the Colosseum has been home to the greatest entertainers in the world including Celine, Elton John, Bette Midler and Cher and has hosted such stars as Jerry Seinfeld, Luciano Pavarotti, Gloria Estefan, Mariah Carey, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Carole King, Stevie Nicks, Chris Rock and Luis Miguel.
...> Broadcasts And Recordings
In October 2011 was shown a TV special about Celine Dion titled "Celine Dion: 3 Boys and a New Show" on the OWN channel in USA. This is a 90-minute TV special wich takes Celine´s fans behind-the-scenes with Celine as she prepared for her new residency show, "Celine" at the Colosseum of the Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, USA. It features footage from Celine´s performances at the Colosseum with the new show as "Open arms", "At seventeen", "Goldfinger", "Ne me quitte pas", "My heart will go on", "(If you can´t sing it) You´ll have to swing it (Mr. Paganini)", "Lullabye (Goodnight, my angel)", "Man in the mirror", "How do you keep the music playing?". The TV special "Celine Dion: 3 Boys and a New Show" was also shown in Quebec TV under the name "Céline, 3 Gars et un Nouveau Show", on April 1, 2012 on TVA channel. Another version (extended) was shown in France under the name "Céline Dion, Une Star Pas Comme Les Autres", on May 21, 2012 on France 3 channel.
...> Songs Set List
1. Interlude [ video introduction ]
2. "Open arms"
3. "Where does my heart beat now"
4. "Because you loved me"
5. Medley: "It´s all coming back to me now" / "The power of love"
6. Interlude [ violin solo by Jean-Sébastien Carré ]
7. "(If you can´t sing it) You´ll have to swing it (Mr. Paganini)"
8. "Lullabye (Goodnight, my angel)"
9. "The reason"
10. Interlude [ James Bond theme instrumental ]
11. Medley: "Goldfinger" / "Nobody does it better" / "Live and let die"
12. "Spinning wheel" [ by Barnev Valsaint ]
13. "How do you keep the music playing?" [ ft. a hologram version of Celine ]
14. "The prayer" [ virtual duet with Andrea Bocelli ]
15. "At seventeen"
16. "Beauty and the beast" [ ft. Barnev Valsaint ]
17. "Ne me quitte pas"
18. "All by myself"
19. "Rolling in the deep"
20. Interlude [ Michael Jackson tribute instrumental ]
21. "Love can move mountains"
22. "River deep, mountain high"
23. Interlude [ Titanic theme instrumental ]
24. "My heart will go on"
...> Additional Notes
- The Michael Jackson tribute, with the songs "Ben" and "Man in the mirror" (originally performed after the Michael Jackson tribute instrumental interlude) was removed from the set list of the show on June 9, 2012. It was replaced by Adele´s single "Rolling in the deep".
- "Declaration of love" was performed by Celine during select previews.
- The instrumental interlude with "Declaration of love" (performed before "Love can move mountains") was removed on June 9, 2012.
- "Diamonds are forever" was performed in the James Bond medley during select previews.
- "I just can´t stop loving you" was performed in the Michael Jackson medley during select previews.
- "Overjoyed" (a virtual duet with Stevie Wonder) was performed until December 28, 2011. It was replaced by "The prayer" (a virtual duet with Andrea Bocelli).
...> Show Merchandise
During the run of the show "Celine", the Caesars Palace opened an special boutique, simply called "Celine" (with the same show logo), wich features a lot of products about Celine Dion and the show, in the lobby of the self Casino-Hotel in Las Vegas, USA. The boutique included Celine´s albums, videos, show souvenirs, T-shirts, hats, parfums, jewels, books, sandals, cups and many more accesories. A previous boutique about Celine Dion was opened from 2003 to 2007 for the run of her first residency show at the Colosseum, "A New Day...".
...> Critical Reception
For the show, Celine received many positive reviews from music critics. USA Today writes "Dion isn´t here to perform. She´s here to kill it. Again… she isn´t aiming for applause. She´s looking for rapture". Las Vegas Sun writes "A magnificent masterpiece!. Celine has singlehandedly redefined class and elegance in onstage performances. Her voice is sent from the angels". The Montreal Gazette writes "Dion magnificent in new Las Vegas show. One hell of a show!...Jaw-dropping... Grandiose, yet intimate…Pure entertainment of the highest order. Worth every penny!". Toronto Star writes "Celine Dion´s Vegas show more spectacular than ever!. If her last show sold out for five years, this one should make it for ten". Celine has always been a pioneer when it comes to creating groundbreaking concert performances and her new show at the Colosseum is receiving rave reviews from critics and fans alike.
...> Promotional Poster / Advertising
...> On Backstage
...> On Rehearsals
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SHOW PROGRAMME
For this residency show, was distributed a show programme in English. It was sold at the boutique of Celine Dion in the lobby of the Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, USA.
...> About The Program
This show programme is a real masterpiece, although is not extended as the "A New Day..." show programmes. It contains tons of pictures from studio, the making of the show, rehearsals, backstage, concerts, band and the show personnel. The contents of this programme is distributed into 15 chapters titled: "Voice from the heart", "Rene Angelil", "The birth of a Las Vegas production"; "Taking sound to the level of fine art"; "Going with the flow"; "Reinventing the musical wheel"; "Using styling to create pure elegance"; "Behind the scenes on the formation of art that imitates life"; "Making of"; "Visual"; "Costumes"; "The star"; "Music"; "Team of teams" and "Thank you". Includes special stuff of each member of the show personnel, and a personal greeting from Celine. The sales of the show programme, help to support the Celine Dion Foundation. The programme contains 95 pages and its dimensions are 34 x 23 centimeter.
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BROCHURE
A brochure of the show was made available in 2011 to help promote the concerts from March to August. The brochure contains three pages with the concert dates, the seating chart and information about the return of Celine to Las Vegas, USA.
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