Celine Dion returned spectacularly to the stage at the Summer Olympics in Paris.
The superstar singer completed the celebration on Friday, immediately following the lighting of the Olympic cauldron, with a performance from the Eiffel Tower’s first stage, singing a timeless classic: Edith Piaf’s “L’Hymne à L’amour.”
Celine Dion Returns To Stage For Dramatic Performance At Olympic Games Opening Ceremony In Paris
Following the performance, Kelly Clarkson, who was commentating on the events for NBC, was awestruck before referring to Dion as “a vocal athlete.”
The live performance is the superstar entertainer’s first since revealing that she has stiff person syndrome, which is “a rare, progressive syndrome that affects the nervous system, specifically the brain and spinal cord,” according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
Dion, 56, stated in December 2022 that she was taking a break from her professional obligations to focus on her health after disclosing her condition. At the time, she stated that her health prevented her from singing “the way I’m used to.”
The “My Heart Will Go On” singer’s last live performance was in March 2020 in New Jersey.
Lady Gaga opened the Olympics with a performance of Zizi Jeanmaire’s “Mon truc en plume,” France’s leading lady of Music Hall performances in the 1950s, beside the Seine River.
Dion provided more information about how difficult her life has become with stiff person syndrome, which can induce involuntary spasms and muscle rigidity, when promoting her new Amazon documentary “I Am: Celine Dion” last month.
In an interview with NBC’s Hoda Kotb at the time, the singer stated that singing with her ailment feels “like somebody is strangling you.”
Celine Dion Returns To Stage For Dramatic Performance At Olympic Games Opening Ceremony In Paris
“I have broken ribs at one point because sometimes when it’s very severe, it can break some ribs as well,” the Grammy-winning performer said.
Dion has not allowed her illness to entirely sideline her, as seen by her appearance onstage at the Grammy Awards earlier this year to give the evening’s last trophy.
SOURCE | CNN
