Celine Dion is preparing for what fans are hoping will be a remarkable return to live performance, two years after she was forced to halt her tour while coping with the life-altering effects of stiff person syndrome.
Over the last six years, Dion, 58, has stepped onto a stage to perform only twice. She offered an unflinching look at the pain, fear and physical toll of the rare neurological disorder in her 2024 documentary, I Am: Celine Dion.
Now, the global music icon is set to make her highly anticipated comeback this fall with a 10-show Paris residency, which has already been expanded following strong demand from fans.
Speaking to Harper’s Bazaar, Dion reflected on the intense preparation behind the upcoming concerts, as well as the self-doubt she has had to confront since receiving her diagnosis.
To ready her body for the demands of performing again, the singer has been completing 90-minute Pilates workouts three times a week, while also taking ballet classes twice weekly with a local company.
‘It is a progressive condition. I don’t like to say “disease.” Disease makes you go like this,’ she said, wrinkling her nose before joking, ‘”Kevin, you’re such a disease.”‘
Celine Dion opened up about preparing for her long-awaited stage comeback in an in-depth Harper’s Bazaar profile
The conversation took place inside a recording studio at the Palms Casino Resort, where the space had been transformed into something of a training hub, complete with weights, a treadmill, a Pilates reformer and a ballet barre where Dion was seen stretching.
Following years of symptoms, Dion was diagnosed with SPS in 2022 after she faced a flare-up in 2020, at the same time as the start of the pandemic.
For three years, she isolated from fans, partly motivated by fears her fans would presume she was living a happy, full life and still cancelling shows.
She also developed an appreciation for nature during this time.
‘I love trees so much, and I had this vision of myself trying to disappear through the leaves,’ she said.
The trees were barren as it was autumn, a visual Dion saw as a metaphor for her own struggles.
‘I was trying to tell them, I’m sorry, I don’t have any apples to give you anymore,’ she said, until a voice told her: ‘But we did not come for the apples; we came for the tree.’
Now she is preparing to return to the stage with a jam-packed exercise schedule in a period she describes as falling and getting back up over and over again.
Dion was diagnosed with the disorder in 2022 but now feels prepared to return to the stage
Dion compared herself to an empty apple tree but heard a voice telling her, ‘We did not come for the apples; we came for the tree’
In the last six years, Dion has only performed twice; pictured 2019
After her diagnosis, Dion isolated herself for three years from fans, fearing they would question her show cancellations
‘It’s been so long, I would like to offer them something to show how I’ve missed them,’ she said.
Indeed, Dion has missed her fans, who she is well-aware are the reason for her success.
‘They paid for tickets,’ she told Harper’s Bazaar. ‘They bought my records. They gave me that luxury. So the least I can do is tell them that I’m alive.’
She is now ready to get back to work, even the more annoying bits of being a pop star.
‘Well, girl,’ Dion says, addressing herself but speaking to the reporter, ‘if you don’t want to sign autographs and you don’t want to get yourself pretty and you don’t want to be disturbed because your pasta is going to get cold, you can always stay home. But look at what you have.’
In March, the pop icon announced she will play a 10-night residency at the 40,000-capacity Paris La Défense Arena in September and October.
‘The least I can do is tell them that I’m alive,’ Dion said of her relationship with her fans and her upcoming residency
Making the announcement on her birthday, she branded her comeback ‘the best gift of my life.’
She said in a video: ‘I’m so ready to do this. I’m feeling good, I’m strong, I’m feeling excited, obviously, [and] of course, a little nervous.
‘I’m doing great, managing my health, feeling good. I’m singing again, even doing a little bit of dancing.
‘But I have to tell you something very important: Over these last few years, every day that’s gone by, I felt your prayers and support, your kindness and love.
‘I am grateful to all of you. I can’t wait to see you again.”
She has since added extra dates due to ‘overwhelming demand’, adding 10 more shows in the month of May.
Dion hit back at the term ‘disease’, telling the outlet: ‘I don’t like to say “disease”‘
‘I would like to offer them something to show how I’ve missed them,’ the music icon told Harper’s Bazaar; pictured 2016
Stiff Person Syndrome is a rare neurological disorder which ’causes muscle stiffness and painful spasms that come and go and can worsen over time’ – and Dion has previously detailed how it affected her signature vocals.
The My Heart Will Go On hitmaker first revealed in 2022 that she was suffering from SPS and cancelled her remaining tour dates at the time.
In a video uploaded at the time to her Instagram page, the singer had emotionally explained, ‘Unfortunately, these spasms affect every aspect of my daily life.
‘Sometimes causing difficulties when I walk and not allowing me to use my vocal cords to sing the way I’m used to.
She added: ‘I’m working hard with my sports medicine therapist every day to build back my strength and my ability to perform again, but I have to admit it’s been a struggle.
In preparation for her grand return, Dion has been doing 90-minute Pilates sessions three times a week along with twice-weekly ballet classes with the local company
The My Heart Will Go On hitmaker first revealed in 2022 that she was suffering from SPS and cancelled her remaining tour dates at the time
Dion will play a 10-night residency at the 40,000-capacity Paris La Défense Arena in September and October, which she has since extended due to popular demand
‘All I know is singing. It’s what I’ve done all my life, and it’s what I love to do the most,’ the mother-of-three continued.
Last year in May, Celine – who also shared a moving message amid Eurovision’s semi-finals – gave a health update during an interview with Vogue and expressed that her ‘happiness has come back.’
She continued, ‘It has been a big burden on my shoulders, and a lot of that weight’s gone…because now I can just focus on reality. That’s wonderful.’
And during an appearance on Today also last year, the performer stated, ‘I believe in myself, in my bravery’ while adding that she will not let the disorder ‘control my life.’
‘I’m going to come onstage because I’m ready. And my vocal cords will not scare me because I’m going to be ready, and I’m going to hit those notes.’
Celine – whose experience with the disease was shown in her documentary I Am: Celine Dion – gave a moving performance at the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics as she belted out L’Hymne à L’Amour by Edith Piaf.
