2024-07-28 16:25:38
“The blue sky may fall. The earth may fall. I don’t care if you love me. I don’t care what the world says.”
Just before midnight on the 26th (local time), when the 2024 Paris Olympics opening ceremony was coming to a close, the song “Hymn to Love” by Edith Piaf (1915-1963), a synonym for chanson, flowed out mournfully from the center of the second floor of the Eiffel Tower, which was splendidly lighting up the dark night of Paris, France, with white lights.
As the camera zoomed in on the Eiffel Tower stage, Celine Dion (56), a singer from Quebec, Canada, appeared in a pure white dress embroidered with pearls. Although she looked somewhat haggard due to ‘Stiff-person Syndrome (SPS),’ a rare neurological disorder that causes stiff muscles throughout the body, she sang powerfully even in the rain.
The singer who will perform the opening ceremony finale is not announced in advance for the sake of event security and box office success, but rumors of Dion’s performance have been circulating since a few days ago when news of Dion’s arrival in Paris began. Even so, there were many who doubted whether Dion would come on stage. However, he performed a miracle about a year and a half after confessing to his illness. Dion also seemed to be moved to tears that day.
The opening ceremony, which was criticized as somewhat difficult despite showing cultural capabilities, was successfully concluded with ‘Dion’s Finale’. His performance was said to be the Olympics itself, overcoming adversity and taking on challenges.
● “I will climb up on stage even if I have to crawl.”
Some say that it was more touching than the opening ceremony of the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, 28 years ago, when Dion sang the Olympic theme song (The Power of the Dream) in good health. This is because, unlike back then when she was a world-class ‘diva’, Dion’s recent life has been a series of adversities and efforts to overcome them.
In fact, Dion lost her husband, René Angélil, who was her strong manager, to cancer after a 17-year battle with the disease in 2016. After that, she went into a slump musically, and in 2022, she was informed that she might not be able to continue her singing career due to SPS. In December 2022, Dion confessed in a video posted to Instagram with tears in her eyes, “I have a rare, incurable disease called SPS,” and “Sometimes I can’t walk, and my vocal cords aren’t controlled well, so it’s hard for me to sing,” and canceled her concert schedule.
The secret to Dion’s ability to perform at the Paris Olympics opening ceremony for the first time in 4 years and 4 months since her performance in March 2020, when it seemed difficult to return to the stage, was consistent treatment and management. In the documentary “I am Celine Dion,” released on Amazon last month, she introduced herself as saying, “I repeated exercise, physical and vocal therapy five days a week.” The documentary shows Dion suffering while receiving treatment but not giving up. The BBC reported that the effectiveness of Dion’s “voice rehabilitation” treatment was proven.
And all of this was possible because of her passion for the stage and music. During an interview on NBC’s “Today Show” last month, Dion, with tears in her eyes, said, “I will go back on stage even if I have to crawl or speak with my hands,” and “I miss that moment (of being on stage).”
● “When it’s time to return, my body will tell me”
Dion is not impatient, even though she dreams of returning to the stage. In a May interview with Vogue, when asked when she might return, she said calmly, “I don’t know. My body will tell me.” This means that she is not fixated on the results of her treatment and is steadily working on her rehabilitation.
In France, many people responded that the lives of Piaf and Dion, who wrote “Hymn to Love” after losing their lover, are strangely similar. French daily Le Monde said, “Dion’s performance is a tribute to Piaf.”
Paris = Correspondent Jo Eun-ah [email protected]
Reporter Lee Ji-yoon [email protected]
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2024-07-28 16:25:38