Luxe Life Blog

Photos: Celine Dion marks 10 years of The Colosseum with big cake

Posted March 18, 2013 • 4:02 p.m.

H.C. Rowe, of AEG and executive director of The Colosseum; John Nelson, AEG vice president; Celine Dion; and John Meglen, AEG president and co-CEO, celebrate the 10th anniversary of The Colosseum at Caesars Palace on Saturday, March 16, 2013.

Photo: Denise Truscello/WireImage/DeniseTruscello.net

The facts and figures are as stunning as superstar Celine Dion and The Colosseum in Caesars Palace shine celebrating their 10th anniversary. Celine paid tribute to the milestone during her performance Saturday night right before a vacation and to finish her new English-language CD due out in September.

Celine returns June 4 to begin the third year in her current three-year contract at The Colosseum, and it’s safe to expect her to continue for another two years. Celine has hinted at it. Husband and manager Rene Angelil has essentially confirmed it. And AEG Live officials expect it.

The show is absolutely flawless. This is entertainment, staging and production value of the highest order. The musicians and singers are perfection. Everything from lighting to audio is sensational. Celine and her voice are beyond gold and platinum; they are riches not found in any other artist. Her voice is an exquisite gift from the angels in heaven above.

I still get a kick when she walks through the theater to perform her hologram duet with herself, and some audience members have an absolutely bewildered look on their face. How can there be two Celines, they wonder for a moment. Then their jaws drop again when she sings her gigantic “Titanic” hit “My Heart Will Go On” surrounded by a 365-degree curtain of rain. It’s a miracle the dress has never gotten wet -- just her shoes in the splashing.

Celine said in our story posted March 5: “I love performing in this theater. Ten years later, it feels as warm and intimate as it did when we did our very first show. We’re performing in front of 4,000 people, and it feels like we’re in my living room.

“I can see their faces, I can hear them talking to me in between songs, and I can even shake their hands (not all of them!). I’ve played at hundreds of wonderful venues around the world, but I think The Colosseum is the best of them all. I know everyone’s used this expression, but it’s true -- there’s not a bad seat in the house!”

This weekend’s show was Celine’s 847th performance in the beautiful theater celebrating the extraordinary milestone: She performed 717 shows in the original “A New Day” run, and to date “Celine’s Back” has been performed 130 times.

AEG President and co-CEO John Meglen told me: “What an incredibly special day! Ten years and 1,750 live performances from more than 70 performers for nearly 7 million fans. We have our residency acts with Celine, Shania Twain, Sir Elton John and Rod Stewart, plus, the biggest artists in the world including Bette Midler, Cher, Diana Ross, Mariah Carey, Gloria Estefan, Tony Bennett, Jerry Seinfeld, Jamie Foxx, Jeff Dunham, Chris Rock and many others.

“They have an impressive 495 Grammy nominations with 126 Grammy Awards to their credit, which proves The Colosseum really is home to the greatest entertainers in the world. The building itself is unrivaled by any other venue in the world with the 2010 award by Billboard as Venue of the Decade and eight consecutive Billboard Touring Awards since we opened.

“The Colosseum is the best theater in the world thanks to an extraordinary team of people, be they in guest services, security and backstage. We still have 62 employees who have been here since we opened 10 years ago. As much as we are celebrating, we are already looking out to 2015 and 2016 for new artists who will join the family.”

After arriving here Friday, Shania rehearsed Saturday before Celine took the stage -- and again Sunday in advance of Tuesday’s opening of her second run of residency shows. She rested Saturday night, but husband Frederic Thiebaud watched Celine’s anniversary performance with members of the Montreal-based design team Sceno Plus, who created The Colosseum architectural plans.

Be sure to check back to Vegas DeLuxe on Wednesday when we conclude our three-part series on the 10 triumphant years of The Colosseum with Caesars Palace President Gary Selesner and two of the employees who were there opening night on March 25, 2003.

Robin Leach has been a journalist for more than 50 years and has spent the past decade giving readers the inside scoop on Las Vegas, the world’s premier platinum playground.

Follow Robin Leach on Twitter at Twitter.com/Robin_Leach.

Follow Vegas DeLuxe on Twitter at Twitter.com/vegasdeluxe.

Follow VDLX Editor Don Chareunsy on Twitter at Twitter.com/VDLXEditorDon.

Link Share This