LOS ANGELES — Canadian crooner Celine Dion plans to return to performing in 2003, headlining a 4,000-seat amphitheater at Las Vegas’s Caesars Palace that is being built to resemble the Roman Colosseum.
The exclusive engagement will begin in March 2003 and Dion will perform 200 nights per year. The show is scheduled to run at least three years, according to Los Angeles-based Concerts West.
The 33-year-old Dion, who stopped performing last year to try to get pregnant, gave birth to her first child on Jan. 25.
Her show will be produced by husband Rene Angelil’s CDA Productions in association with Creations du Dragone. It is being designed by Franco Dragone, creator of three Cirque du Soleil shows.
The $65 million amphitheater is being built to replace the hotel-casino’s famed 1,000-seat Circus Maximus showroom, which was demolished in September. Located in the center of the Colosseum will be a 22,000-square-foot stage.
“To open it with Celine is about the best you could ever imagine,” said Tom Gallagher, president and chief executive officer of Park Place Entertainment Inc., which owns Caesars Palace.
The Colosseum, near the entrance to the Forum Shops at Caesars, is part of Park Place’s plans to expand Caesars Palace.
