-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CONCERT IN PARIS
On June 20, 1999 Celine Dion performed again at the Stade De France in Saint-Denis, France (a commune in the northern suburbs of Paris) in front of about 90,000 people, with the "Let´s Talk About Love Tour". It was the same show to the one she gave the day before (on june 19, 1999). According to Manon Guilbert from The Journal of Montreal, Rene Angelil did not miss a second of the show that Celine offered at the Stade De France in front of 90,000 people. At his place, in his room, in Florida, USA explained Celine with much emotion, he attended this gigantic spectacle. "From on our premises, in his armchair, Rene sees it all, he´s with us thanks to technology. Rene is well", Celine affirmed, although it is difficult. "I am proud of him, he´s very strong. Thank you for your prayers and your energy. That helped so much". The French in the steps and on the floor of the Stade De France, largest venue that Celine ever visited until now, raised signs expressing their sympathy to Rene. Several, on-camera without their knowledge by the cameras sweeping the crowd, showed their tears. As invested of a mission, Celine adapted to all this uncountable emotion. Each one of her songs, all and each one saying love, took a different depth, a new direction. Celine, for the French public, transformed her spectacle. She draws more from her French-speaking repertory that anglophone. Jean-Jacques Goldman, old friend and author to her last two French albums, with the great pleasure of the public, joined her on stage. The effect was instantaneous surprise. His guitar in shoulder-belt, he sings with her "J´irai où tu iras" avant, a cappella, then "S´il suffisait d´aimer". The public sings with him, the fire of lighters lights the ring of the stage. The moment is magic. Goldman saves the words, and the knowing glance which he throws to Celine is at length. The emotion is palpable and flashes back onto the public. Generous, never not forgetting her beginnings, she is devoted to telling the facts to them. Celine thanks her mother, Eddie Marney and Luc Plamondon, present in the crowd, by taking again their songs, of successes like "Ce n´était qu´un rêve", "D´amour ou d´amitié", "Ziggy", "L´amour existe encoré" which, in turn, propelled her to the height of her glory. From beginning to end, for two hours, Celine accompanies each of the 95,000 people brought together in this immense stage. Even if she sings all her anglophone successes such as "The power of love", "Tell him", "The reason", she will still say all the same that the most beautiful language to sing about love, is French before interpreting "Pour que tu m´aimes encoré". Dressed like a princess, standing at the rail which is drawn up on the heart-shaped stage, she leaves the audience with "My heart will go on". According to RFI Musique, Quebecois diva brought the house down at the Stade De France in Paris. 75,000 fans turned out to see Celine at the Stade De France each night (19 and 20 June) and lucky audiences enjoyed an unexpected treat when Celine´s French songwriter Jean-Jacques Goldman joined her on stage to perform a special duet. Needless to say, Celine´s mega-show at the Stade De France - which included the singer leaping onto a gigantic ship´s prow to perform her theme song from "Titanic" - proved an enormous hit with French fans. The concerts at the Stade De France were recorded for a CD/DVD package. The performances were released under the title "Au Cœur Du Stade" (meaning "At the heart of the stadium"). The package were released separately with DVD following the CD release. The CD contains an abbreviated version of the concert, primarily showcasing her French-language songs. A live video of "Dans un autre monde" was used to promote both the CD and DVD packages.
CONCERT IN MUNICH
On July 3, 1999 Celine Dion performed at the Olympic Stadium in Munich, Germany with the "Let´s Talk About Love Tour" and in front of more than 60,000 people. Celine performed on the heart-shaped stage specially designed for this tour, but it wasn´t situated at the center of the stage.
CONCERT IN SHEFFIEL
On July 6, 1999 Celine Dion performed at the Don Valley Stadium in Sheffield, United Kingdom in front of about 50,000 people, with the "Let´s Talk About Love Tour". Mike + The Mechanics did the opening act for this show. They also performed before Celine in London, UK on July 10 and 11, 1999. Celine opened the show with "Let´s talk about love", wearing a white kimono and rounded by a children choir. After the first song, Celine took off that outfit and she continued performing with a white and sexy suit. She also performed "Because you loved me", "The reason", "It´s all coming back to me now", "To love you more", "Treat her like a lady", "Tell him" and "Think twice", among other songs. The song "All by myself" was removed from the set list at the end of December 1998 and it was replaced by "The power of love". And the song "Love is on the way", was removed from the set list at the end of December 1998 and it was replaced by "I´m your angel", which was performed by Celine in duet with the backing vocal, Barnev Valsaint. Celine ended the show with "My heart will go on", wearing a white dress, which replaced the red outfit used before. On this show, it was used the center stage specially designed for the tour (heart-shaped stage). According to the music critic Dave Simpson, from The Guardian, "I just want to let you know", Celine begins, "Rene is doing fine" (in reference to Rene Angelil, Celine´s 57 year old husband and manager, back home in Florida, USA recovering from cancer). Celine - in a tight, glittering number - explains how she wanted to be with him but also wished to be there in Sheffield to "share in our positive energies". What´s more, as Celine explains, Rene is watching the gig - as he does every Dion gig - on the TV at their luxurious home. By saying this, Celine (who is often accused of not putting her character into her music) defies her critics and defines the concert. Previously schmaltzy big-voiced power ballads take on new, weightier meanings. There´s one called "Immortality"; another "Love can move mountains". She even covers (gasp) "Stayin´ alive". This isn´t just a pop concert but a gigantic, surreal respiratory machine. From anyone else, such an exhibition of private grief would be Hollywood posturing of the most lurid, but Celine is as scarily sincere as her marketing managers no doubt like her songs to sound. Like Michael Jackson, she´s spent a life on stage, ascending from family poverty to a $100 million fortune. She had no boyfriends other than Rene Angelil (who masterminded her ascent) they remain childless, and on stage she, like Jackson, seems trapped in a stilted bubble. Celine talks to her audience the way a regular person would confide in a close friend. "In every business, there´s a price to pay". Pause, guilt. "But I´m very lucky". She reacts to the bubble-prick of Rene´s illness the only way she knows how - in emotional cliches, and before an audience. Her show is big on regimented precision and strangely eerie. There are autocues, levitating stages and telescreen virtual duets with Barbara Streisand and the Bee Gees. Finally, following the inevitable "Titanic"-sized "My heart will go on", accompanied by images from the film, she leaves the stage to flowers. As she does so, her face momentarily drops. And according to showbusiness columnist Polly Graham, from Daily Mirror, Celine has always been an emotional singer - but last night (July 6, 1999) the diva put more of her soul than ever into her performance. It´s no surprise that her love ballads seem more heartfelt than ever as she kicked off the UK leg of her tour. After all, she has been through a hell of a lot in the past three months. The star went from the high of her "Titanic" hit "My heart will go on" to the low of her husband and manager Rene Angelil´s battle with skin cancer. She opened her show before a 50,000-strong crowd at Sheffield´s Don Valley Stadium with the anthemic "Let´s talk about love". The tone changed for the second number, "Declaration of love", as she raunchily ripped off her coat to reveal a sexy sequinned white catsuit. Then she moved on to a hit ballad "Because you loved me". Throughout the show, she easily switched from powerful ballads to showtunes with flirty dance routines thrown in. There were acoustic numbers too, such as the Bee Gees medley which showed off her awe-inspiring range of vocals. Throughout it all, Celine showed her ability to make a crowd feel like they are having an intimate experience.
CONCERT IN EDINBURGH
On July 8, 1999 Celine Dion performed at the Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh, United Kingdom the "Let´s Talk About Love Tour" and in front of about 60,000 people. Irish band, The Corrs did the opening act. The concert began at 19:15, with the performance of the supporter group, The Corrs. They have been on stage for an hour. At the end of their performance, after a brief break, was the moment of Celine, who appeared at 20:30 onstage dressing a wonderful kimono and singing "Let´s talk about love", the song that names the album, six times gold record in UK. After her performance, encircled by a children choir, Celine took off the kimono, showing her true dress, a white suit, and she sang "Declaration of love". The fans were very excited to see the singer who was running, with grit, on the heart shape and bright stage, "playing" with the musicians. After that song, Celine said hallo to the audience and to her husband, who was following the concert by satellite, in their house in Florida, USA. The concert continued going along the career of the singer, from the most distant hits like "The power of love" and "Think twice" to the most recent ones like "The reason" and "I´m your angel". "To love you more", with the presence of the violinist Taro Hakase, and the funny "Treat her like a lady", single in that period, were very interesting. Celine allowed herself a brief French entr'acte, with the wonderful performance of "S´il suffissait d´aimer", or, as she said, "If love were enough". After the song she paid omage to the great name of the music as Sinatra, The Beatles and Eric Clapton, singing some of their hits, like the wonderful "Tears in heaven". The most involving moment was when she sang "Love can move mountains". At the half of the song, Celine gave space to the choristers who began to incite the fans, and at once everybody began to shout and to support. Then, Celine returned with a gray suite and at the end of the song she incited the audience to liven up a party: the psychedelic lights lighted up, a disco shining sphere came down from the top and everybody began to dance and to sing on the notes of "Staying alive". Another wonderful moment was the ending one, when she sang the very known "My heart will go on". When the fans were already going away, the screens suddenly lighted up with the images of "Titanic", then a very intense light lighted up and a flautist came on stage, playing the main theme of the motion picture. All of a sudden, the prow of "Titanic" appeared on the stage, and upon that there was Celine dressing a wonderful white suite, with a very large skirt. The audience was in frenzy, everybody held hands and began to sing. At the end of the song, Celine got down off the stage and passed among the fans to go behind the scenes. Everybody came closer and began to throw flowers and gifts.
CONCERT IN LONDON
On July 10, 1999 Celine Dion performed at the Wembley Stadium in London, United Kingdom in front of more than 80,000 people, with the "Let´s Talk About Love Tour". The following day, Celine performed again at the Wembley Stadium. According to some fans who attended the show, the concert began around 21:00. Everybody thought she came from the front entrance of the stadium, but Celine, as a star, appeared directly on the stage. Her performance was fantastic, her voice was clearness and full of feeling, and she transmitted to the audience wonderful sensations. What with a song the another, she nicely entertained the audience with her speeches, remembering that her manager and husband Rene Angelil was ill at home as well, saying that she´d like to be at his side to comfort him.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
