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This page was last updated on: February 26, 2002
"Celine Dion To Headline 'One-Of-A-Kind' Theatrical Musical Spectacular At Ceasars Palace" May 17, 2001 Music Superstar Joins with Franco Dragone, Sony Music and Concerts West to Form 'Dream Team' Alliance in Creation of Long-Running Musical Production LAS VEGAS (May 17, 2001) As part of an unprecedented alliance, Sony Music recording artist Celine Dion has accepted an offer to perform in an exclusive, extended engagement at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. The unique production, which will be presented by Concerts West, will debut in March, 2003. Ms. Dion's performance will be the centerpiece of a spectacular theatrical presentation directed by Franco Dragone, creator of the enormously successful "Quidam," "O" and "Mystère." A brand-new 4,000-seat theatre, designed to resemble the Colosseum in Rome, is being constructed specifically for this concert engagement which is scheduled to run for a minimum of three years. Ms. Dion, who gave birth to her first child on January 25th, was recently named the world's best selling female artist, selling more than 125 million albums worldwide over the past decade. Ms. Dion and her husband René Angélil's company, CDA Productions Inc., will produce the show, in association with Franco Dragone's company, Créations du Dragon (cq). Concerts West, an Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) company, will present the show. Based in Belgium, Criations du Dragon specializes in the creation and production of high level artistic live shows entertainment, special events and multimedia projects. "Concerts West is dedicated to creating this type of 'one-of-a-kind' production for audiences worldwide," said John Meglen, Co-CEO of Concerts West. "We are excited to team with Caesars Palace, which has a long history of hosting internationally renowned entertainment and events. We are so privileged to be associated with Celine Dion, René Angélil and Franco Dragone; three individuals we consider not only to be among the most talented in their fields but the most honorable partners any organization could have." "This alliance brings together an entertainment 'Dream Team' in Celine Dion, René Angélil, Sony Music, Franco Dragone, Concerts West and Caesars Palace," said Thomas E. Gallagher, President and Chief Executive Officer of Park Place Entertainment Corporation, the parent company of Caesars Palace. "We have had a long and wonderful friendship with Celine and René. We are delighted to join them in this all-star coalition to create an extraordinary show that will combine the best in music and the best in theatre. We are particularly proud that the home for this remarkable experience will be at Caesars Palace." "It was not only our great admiration for Celine as a performer but our tremendous respect for her and René as the people they are that led us to this partnership," said Timothy J. Leiweke, President of the Anschutz Entertainment Group. "Under the leadership of Concerts West, this 'one-of-a-kind' production will show how the synergies of the AEG affiliated companies create tremendous opportunities for our organizations and those we do business with." Information will be available beginning Tuesday, May 22, at (877) CELINE-4 (877-235-4634) and online at www.caesars.com. An on-sale date and public ticket information will be announced at a later time. Park Place Entertainment Corporation is the world's largest gaming company and owns, manages or has an interest in 28 gaming properties operating under the Caesars, Bally's, Hilton, Grand and Flamingo brand names, with a total of 2 million square feet of gaming space, more than 28,000 hotel rooms and 57,000 employees worldwide. Based in Los Angeles, Concerts West, Ltd. is one of the world's largest producers and promoters of live music events and tours. Run by veteran tour promoters John Meglen and Paul Gongaware, the company's primary focus is indoor arenas, which allows for an extension of artists' tours and increased revenue by eliminating seasonality. Concerts West is and AEG Company. The Anschutz Entertainment Group, Inc. (AEG) is one of the leading sports and entertainment presenters in the world. AEG, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Anschutz Corporation, owns a collection of companies including facilities such as STAPLES Center, the London Arena, the Great Western Forum (as exclusive booking agent for sports and entertainment programming), HealthSouth Training Center and the Kodak Theater (as operator); sports franchises including the Los Angeles Kings (NHL), the Manchester Monarchs (AHL), Redding Royals (ECHL), Los Angeles Galaxy, Chicago Fire and Colorado Rapids (MLS), five hockey franchises operated in Europe and portions of the Los Angeles Lakers (NBA) and Los Angeles Sparks (WNBA); Envision, a naming rights and sponsorship company; Spring Communications, devoted to creation and marketing of live events for pay-per-view and other electronic media; Turnstyle Marketing, a full-service marketing and advertising agency; and Concerts West, a live entertainment promotion and touring company. AEG is currently overseeing the development of the L.A. Sports and Entertainment District, a proposed 4 million square foot development featuring LA Live, a state-of-the-art live theatre, a 1,200-room convention "headquarters" hotel along with entertainment, restaurant and office space all adjacent to STAPLES Center. In addition, AEG is spearheading the creation of a national training academy that will include major facilities for soccer, tennis, track & field, cycling, basketball and other sports in southern California. "Celine Dion reveals she has second fertilized egg stored at clinic." Taken from the Montreal Gazette: ALEXANDER PANETTA MONTREAL (CP) - Celine Dion has a second fertilized egg stored at a New York City fertility clinic and says she hopes it will one day be a sibling for her unborn son. "It doesn't mean they're identical twins but they were conceived at the same time," the pregnant pop diva said in an interview scheduled for broadcast Sunday on TVA, Quebec's largest private television network. Dion is seven months pregnant with her first child. It will be a son conceived with husband Rene Angelil through in vitro fertilization at the same clinic. Dion, 32, underwent hormone injections earlier this year which helped her produce 22 eggs, of which 14 were fertilized. Three of those eggs were implanted in her uterus and the lone surviving one is scheduled to be born on Valentine's Day. However, one other egg was fertilized and remains at the clinic, where it was frozen five days after conception, Dion said in the interview with longtime acquaintance Michel Jasmin. An increased number of fertilized eggs gives her a greater chance of becoming pregnant, she said. Dion was asked whether she wants another child. "Another child? Yes, because we already have another child waiting for us in New York, making a stopover at this time. I surely couldn't live knowing that child is there." Freezing extra embryos gives couples an additional opportunity to conceive without going through another stimulation cycle and egg retrieval. "I don't know if it's good forever but I think it lasts for a very long time,"she said. "I'll go get it, that's for sure." The news of the frozen embryo has already sparked controversy. Sept Jours, a popular Quebec magazine that belongs to TVA, destroyed 200,000 copies of an unreleased issue it published under the front-page headline, My Son Already Has a Twin. After obtaining an advance copy of the issue, Angelil angrily charged that Dion's revelation was sensationalized and twisted out of context. The magazine was scheduled to appear Friday but has now been reprinted to appear Saturday under the headline, Celine Opens Her Heart. Dion did suggest in the interview that the second embryo could be like a twin for her son. She recounted a story, told to her by a doctor, about a woman who underwent the same procedure. "Three or four years later she went to get the other one and it was an identical twin. So I have a twi... It's called a laboratory twin. Technically it's called a twin." However, even if the embryo is implanted and carried to term, it could not be a twin of the child she is carrying. Identical twins are created from a single embryo that splits in the womb. Fraternal twins come from different embryos that are carried at the same time. A spokeswoman for Angelil said he was "really, really shocked" when he saw a sample issue of the magazine on Thursday. "Mr. Angelil did not think it was in good taste and felt it was out of context," said Francine Chaloult, who appeared at a public screening of the interview Friday. Renee-Claude Menard, a marketing vice-president at TVA, said the company agreed the cover was in poor taste and decided not to release it. Dion also said in the interview that a name has not been chosen for her son, but added that the name might include Rene. One year after beginning a sabbatical, Dion said she feels fulfilled to finally be doing something other than performing. She said she was exhausted and didn't feel like her heart was fully into her final performance at Montreal's Molson Centre last New Year's Eve. However she said she might record another album one year after her son is born. |
Celine Tickets to March TV Taping To Go On Sale!!!! As many of you know Celine will kick off her new album, "A New Day Has Come" with a TV Taping. The taping will take place on Sunday, March 3, 2002 at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood, California. TICKETS will go on sale Thursday Feb. 28th, BY PHONE ONLY by calling Ticketmaster directly. The concert will start at 8pm, and you MUST be seated by 7:30. They will not allow late people in. Prices have not been released. Tickets will NOT be sold on the internet. You MUST call Ticketmaster directly. There is also a 4 ticket limit. GOOD LUCK! Celine Dion on 20/20 with Barbara Walters She wanted to have a normal life, and she desperately wanted to have a baby, she told me in an interview. Well, just over a year ago, Dion and her husband, René Angelil, had a baby boy: René-Charles. Now Dion, 33, is ready to go back to work but with very different decisions about her future. Her first new single is called "A New Day Has Come" and what a new day it is for her. Life of a Legend There were people who said, "She's never going to stop." But Dion knew it was time. "I needed to stop. I needed a balance in my life," she told me in an interview conducted near her Florida home. "I wanted a normal life at one point. I wanted to be home." But for most of her life, nothing has been average for Dion. Her life is the stuff of legend. "I've never had a normal life," she said. The youngest of 14 children, she grew up in a poor but loving French Canadian family. She wasn't pretty, but her voice, as they said, made angels weep. When she was 12, Dion's mother took her to record producer Angelil, who took a gamble when he recognized her talent. He mortgaged his house to finance her career, and over the years transformed the awkward little girl with pointy teeth into an international superstar. When Dion was only 20 and Angelil 46, the singer fell in love with her manager. A few years later they were married in a lavish, almost royal wedding televised across Canada. When Dion learned English, her magnificent voice catapulted her into mega-stardom. Her fans adored her, and hit after hit followed, culminating in the 1997 blockbuster theme song from Titanic, "My Heart Will Go On." Triumph and Crisis Then two years ago, Dion shocked the entertainment world when she announced she was suspending her career to try to have a child. She conceived through in vitro fertilization. "I know a lot of people went probably through experiences like us, wanting to have a child, going through tests and in vitro and all that," said Dion, who was fortunate to become pregnant with just one try. But while she was trying to have a baby, her husband was diagnosed with throat cancer. "René needed me with what he's been through," said Dion. "And I felt good about it. I can do something good, not only through music, but I can be a woman at home. I can be his wife. I can make a difference in his life." Though Dion had known Angelil as her manager for years, she wanted to get to know him as her husband and caring for him during his cancer treatment made that happen. "I felt the difference very much so," she said, "because when he got sick and he came to me and he said 'I love you, but now I need you.'" It has almost been three years since Angelil was first diagnosed, and Dion said he is doing well. "He's fighting every day. But I think René-Charles is helping him a lot." Their son, she said, "is the extension of the love we have for each other René-Charles is everything that we have accomplished together." She loves to watch her husband and son interact. "They love each other so much," she said. "And for me to see the two men in my life loving each other like that is the biggest reward." Coming Back on Her Own Terms So why is she coming back now? "Because I'm happiest now," she told me. "I think I'm a grown up a little more What do you want me to do after the Titanic, and after the world tour and after doing the stadiums I'm good with my nightgown and pajamas at home with René-Charles, playing with the toys. I feel great." Now, she said, "I have it all." For almost 20 years, Dion toured the world, singing to as many as 90,000 fans. Now the artist will let the fans come to her: No more touring. In a deal that will net Dion close to $100 million, and allow her to be both a performer and mother, she recently signed an unprecedented three-year contract to sing five nights a week at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas, starting next year. "I can play with my child all day at home," she said. "Mommy's going to leave home around 6 at night and the show will be at 8:30." It will be quite an extravaganza: 200 shows a year in a replica of the Roman Coliseum built especially for her. And after her Vegas run, Dion and Angelil plan to have another baby, using a remaining frozen embryo. "We will definitely give it a try. It doesn't mean it will work," she said. "We'll see." Though her husband is 60, Dion said she's not concerned about his age. "What's important to us, it's happiness and quality time. I wouldn't change anything about René: his age, his skin, his heart, his past," she said. Rumors and Resolve But in Angelil's past, according to tabloid reports, he has lost millions of dollars gambling. Numerous stories allege that the problem is serious. "René's a gambler. Of course he is. And I'm glad he is Because he mortgaged his house to make me do my first album when I was 12 years old," said Dion. "That's probably the biggest gamble he's ever done." As for rumors that he has lost $10 million, Dion said, "The truth is, it's not true." "He's a gambler, but he's smarter," she added. And when they move to Las Vegas, she said, "He's going to play. I would like him to enjoy himself. But we're going to organize ourselves. We're going to have the money to play. We're going to put this aside, and he's going to play that money It's like me with the shopping." In the meantime, she'll not only get back into the spotlight, but will also continue singing to her little boy though it's not always so easy to please him. "There's specific songs that I can sing to him, and other things that I can't because he cries," she said. "When I sing with all my heart and my soul lullabies, he cries." Written with Alan B. Goldberg. Courtesy of http://abcnews.go.com/sections/2020/DailyNews/2020_celinedion_020201.html Celine Dion makes appearance at Las Vegas Dance Auditions Recently Celine came to watch dance auditions for her upcoming Musical Spectacular. Here are some of the pictures! |
For information about upcoming Celine music releases, visit the Music page! |
