NANTERRE, France — Céline Dion performed her first concert in six years on Saturday, opening a sold-out Paris residency at Plenitude Arena, Europe's largest indoor concert venue, in the Parisian suburb of Nanterre.
The 58-year-old singer took the stage at 8:49 p.m. local time to thunderous applause from thousands of fans. She wore a pleated black gown and an enormous glittering necklace, opening with her 1998 hit "On Ne Change Pas." She stopped partway through, moved to tears. "I promised not to cry," she told the crowd.
Throughout the evening, Dion expressed the weight of the moment. "Tonight I want to sing for you, for me, for life," she said. When starting "The Chase," she paused after making a mistake and asked the audience if she could begin the track again.
Dion performed 26 songs over more than two hours, drawing on her extensive catalog. Her setlist included 1990s anthems such as "My Heart Will Go On," "All By Myself" and "It's All Coming Back To Me Now." When thanking her fans, she quoted her own 1996 ballad: "Thank you so much for your support, your patience and, if I may say so, I am everything I am because you loved me."
The return marked a full return to the stage following Dion's diagnosis of stiff person syndrome, a rare neurological disorder characterized by stiffness and involuntary muscle spasms. She had announced the condition in 2022, forcing her to step away from performing.
Dion made a public reappearance in 2024, performing Edith Piaf's "Hymne à l'amour" from the Eiffel Tower during the Paris Olympic Games opening ceremony. Saturday's performance was her first full concert since the diagnosis.
The current engagement spans 26 concerts over eight months. Promotional signs for the residency dotted the Champs-Élysées and the Seine ahead of opening night.
Fans demonstrated deep emotional investment in her return. Melanie McGill, attending from Los Angeles, said, "I've already cried three times." Fanny Sucheyre canceled her one-year wedding anniversary party to attend, wearing her "most beautiful dress" to fulfill a personal dream. Guylene Richardson, 50, attended with her daughter, both wearing Dion concert shirts. "I haven't slept for three days. I'm 50 years old and right now I feel like I'm 15," Richardson said. She added: "With her disease, I didn't think she would come back, so it's great. I'm really happy for her."
Dion concluded the evening with "S'il Suffisait d'Aimer," a critically acclaimed hit from her bestselling French-language album of the same name.
