2/24/2006 Celine Dion "A New Day," The Colosseum at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, NV


 15 years ago today...

February 24, 2006 - Las Vegas, NV

Celine Dion, Canada's top selling recording artist of all time, performed one of 717 shows at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace.

Dion's "A New Day" ran from 2003 - 2007 and is the highest grossing concert residency of all time, attracting 3 million people over 717 performances.  

This show was produced by Franco Dragone, artistic director of Cirque du Soleil, and performed in the new 4,000-seat Colosseum at Caesars Palace, a venue built specifically for Dragon and Dion's vision.  "A New Day" was the hottest, and priciest, ticket on the Vegas strip at the time.

This residency combined music, dance, performance art, special effects and state-of-the-art technology as Dragone incorporated aspects of his Cirque du Soleil shows with a pop music soundtrack.

For all the hype, I was underwhelmed with Celine and her show.  While her vocals are truly impressive, she was stiff and awkward in bantering with the audience.  She came off as a stuck-up diva.  The Cirque-style dancing lacked the athleticism and wow-factor seen in shows like "O" and "Mystere."  

At one point, the star dressed down a fan sitting up front for allegedly shooting flash photography.  Her rant went on so long and seemed so rehearsed that we wondered if it was part of the act.

When the seven-year residency ended, a CD/DVD package of this show titled "Live in Las Vegas...A New Day" was released.

The Colosseum at Caesars Palace offers tremendous audio and sight lines, feeling smaller and more intimate than one would expect in a 4,000-seat venue.  Since Celine, the showroom has hosted residencies from Elton, Cher, Rod, Bette, Shania and Mariah; artists identifiable by first name only.

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