Her heart will go on even in one of the world’s biggest stages. After years of recovery and vocal training, Céline Dion is finally making her coveted return to performing.
Variety confirmed that Céline Dion will make her comeback at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony. French Sports minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra also hinted that “The Power of Love” singer’s presence in the French capital was “not by chance” saying “there are a multitude of possible roles in an opening ceremony.”
Related: What is Stiff-Person Syndrome? Behind Celine Dion’s ‘Devastating’ Diagnosis
The best-selling French language artist has been away from the spotlight for several years after she was diagnosed with Stiff-Person’s Syndrome. She first revealed her diagnosis in 2022. Months later, in May 2023, Dion announced that she was canceling the rest of her European Courage World Tour tour to focus on her recovery. “I’ve been dealing with problems with my health for a long time, and it’s been really difficult for me to face these challenges and to talk about everything that I’ve been going through,” she captioned an Instagram post. “It hurts me to tell you that I won’t be ready to restart my tour in Europe in February.”
What happened to Céline Dion’s voice?
Céline Dion has been trying to train her voice, but her health condition has affected it greatly. When Today‘s Hoda Kotb asked how stiff-person syndrome has affected her voice, the singer responded, “It’s like somebody is strangling you. It’s like somebody is pushing your larynx/pharynx,” She later demonstrated raising her voice while her throat moved inward. “It was like talking like that, and you cannot go high or lower.”
“It gets into a spasm,” she continued. “It started [in the throat]. [And I thought], ‘No, OK, it’s gonna be fine.’ But it can also be the abdominal, can be in the spine, can be in the ribs.” She confirmed that a spasm had broken one of her ribs.
“I went on stage and I started to sound more nasal,” she said of her symptoms on stage. “I could say, ‘It’s a little cold starting’ or ‘It’s the third show in a row.’ ‘You’re working too hard.’ But the thing is, it was different. I started to feel like the body was more rigid.”
One of the most vulnerable scenes in her documentary I Am: Céline Dion features a 10-minute unedited long spasm. Her physical therapist adjusts her body and inserts benzodiazepine nasal spray while her body is twitching. “Every time something like this happens, it makes me feel so embarrassed,” Dion says after the experience. “I don’t know how to express it, you know, to not have control over yourself.”
Though she’s been training so hard to be center stage, it seems like her condition permanently affects her performing. “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 says. “All I know is singing. It’s what I’ve done all my life. And it’s what I love to do the most.”
