Celine Talks 10th Anniversary of the Colosseum at Caesars Palace

[mike_z]

http://www.vegasdeluxe.com/blogs/luxe-life/2013/mar/05/celine-dion-talks-10th-anniversary-colosseum-caesa/

http://photos.lasvegassun.com/media/img/photos/2012/06/07/scaled.CelineDionDTWI_t450.jpg?613272c032846e7268e57ee632edc6288efb17ce

Ten years ago, The Colosseum was built for you. Patrick Berge, president of Sceno Plus, said that the main goal was to create a building you feel comfortable singing in every night and one that helps you develop a stronger connection with your audience. How did you work with the development team/architects to accomplish this?

Well, first of all, I have to say that 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!).

Patrick and his team at Sceno Plus worked very closely with Franco Dragone’s team and our team to make sure that the acoustics and the sightlines were perfect, and they did an amazing job. The giant screen allows us to present incredible visuals for the audiences to enjoy. On top of this, they created built-in humidifiers on our stage to keep the air moist for my vocal chords. This is amazing!

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!

What is your favorite memory/moment at The Colosseum?

We’ve had so many memorable moments at The Colosseum, but since we’re talking about the 10th anniversary, how about something that happened on the very first show 10 years ago on March 25, 2003? We had all the media and VIPs in attendance for this premiere. ... Obviously, it was a very big night.

Somehow, during a costume change, my shoes went missing. It was like do I leave the audience waiting, or do I go out in my bare feet? You can’t keep the people waiting, especially on opening night, so I started the song shoeless ... and just as I was starting to sing, my brother Michel came onstage with the missing shoes!

I think that moment set the tone for every show since then. We’re “live,” and that means no show is ever exactly the same as another. There’s something different and unique about every performance. Sometimes it makes our hearts beat a little faster, but it also makes it very exciting. By the way, so far no more problems with shoes not showing up on time!

There are now additional resident artists joining you during the year in The Colosseum’s roster (Elton John, Rod Stewart, Jerry Seinfeld and Shania Twain). Have you given them any suggestions or tips about performing at The Colosseum?

I haven’t really given any of them advice. They’re all great artists with a lot of experience. The only thing I learned from my very own experience was to not do too many shows in one year. We started out doing 200 shows a year, and that was a little tough. Now we do 70 shows a year, and it’s working out great.

Do you have a “Happy Anniversary” message for the team at The Colosseum?

Yes! I’d like to say a very Happy 10th Birthday to the team at The Colosseum, and more than this, I want to thank everyone for their hard work and dedication, whether they’ve been there for the entire 10 years, or they’ve joined along the way. It’s a great place for an artist to call home, and this is because of the great teams that we have at Caesars, AEG, as well as my musicians and our team at CDA.

Last but not least, I want to thank the fans for coming to see our show over the years. They make it all happen!

Next week, our interview with John Meglen, the man who bet the bank and went out on a limb for the $150 million to bankroll those first shows.

[c4n4d4]

Kinda irritates me that in the article they said she went on hiatus after "A New Day..." to do a world tour for "A New Day"....Get your facts straight!

[DionFanAlways]

Yeah someone posted this article in "Changes to the show" section. I can't believe I missed the, "AND" tour... She must have snuck that one by us!

[mike_z]

hahaha seriously, I think it's a "fake" interview. It sounds like a Céline spokeperson!

[c4n4d4]

hahaha seriously, I think it's a "fake" interview. It sounds like a Céline spokeperson!

I agree or she was scripted on what to say

[c4n4d4]

This is the same site that posted the article about her extending her residency. I don't think this site is all that reliable....

[BLM]

Lovely video interview of Celine regarding her 10 year anniversary. Rene could not be there when the cake was presented since he was not feeling well.

http://www.journaldemontreal.com/video/c%C3%A9line-%C3%A0-vegas---discours-10e-anniversaire/2245798781001

Edited March 24, 2013 at 08:36 PM by Bubba

[Mattie]

Lovely video interview of Celine regarding her 10 year anniversary. Rene could not be there when the cake was presented since he was not feeling well.

http://www.journaldemontreal.com/video/c%C3%A9line-%C3%A0-vegas---discours-10e-anniversaire/2245798781001

 

That is a huge cake - it looks delicious! It's too bad Rene couldn't have been there.