The star singer went solo as she delivered power house performance on the Eiffel Tower to bring the four-hour event to a stirring climax.
Celine Dion has returned to the stage for the first time since revealing a serious health condition, delivering a typical powerhouse performance at the Paris Olympics opening ceremony.
The Canadian superstar had been rumoured to be singing a duet with Lady Gaga, but instead went solo on the Eiffel Tower to bring the four-hour event to a stirring climax.
It was Dion’s first live performance in four years, and came a year and a half after she revealed a diagnosis of Stiff Person Syndrome (SPS).
SPS is a rare neurological disorder that causes muscles to spasm and can be debilitating. It also affected her distinctive, forceful voice.
The 56-year-old, known as the “queen of power ballads”, has been having therapy to “rebuild” her voice, she told the BBC in June.
On Friday, her delivery of Edith Piaf’s classic L’Hymne à l’Amour gave encouraging signs that the treatment is working.
She was accompanied by a pianist on the first level of the Eiffel Tower, beneath giant illuminated Olympic rings.
Source: BBC, with additional report
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