Playing great songs by Celine Dion at the Agora in Quebec on Sunday night while the Quebec icon battles her illness in Las Vegas will stir many emotions, predicts her musical director Scott Price since 2015.
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Even during rehearsals, “we see what’s coming, and everyone has moments full of emotion,” affirms the one who leads a team of 14 musicians during the presentation of the show “Pour toi Céline – Homage to the album From them” as part of the show becomes SuperFrancoFête 2023.
“When you see everything she did in two hours summarized, you say to yourself: What a career! In the videos we see the heights she has reached. It’s impressive,” adds Scott Price, who, like the singer’s other collaborators, thrives on hope.
“We hope his career is just on hold, but this show is a moment of intense reflection.”
Isabelle Boulay, Mario Pelchat, Bruno Pelletier, Camille Lellouche, Véronic DiCaire, Corneille and Roch Voisine are part of the cast of this show.
Appreciation
According to the musician, who also fronted Thursday’s big SuperFrancoFête show, one has to have worked closely with Celine Dion to fully appreciate the extent of her international fame.
“We come to galas in Los Angeles with Prince and Madonna, and when Céline comes, it’s like the opening on the Red Sea. Everyone loves her, everyone respects her. She is held in the highest regard everywhere,” he says.
“How many singers play in London, Paris, Singapore, Macau? There aren’t many people at this level. He’s such a big star.”
Songs that evolve
Scott Price was not among Celine Dion’s entourage when D’eux was released in 1995, which went on to become the best-selling French-language album of all time. However, since he has shared the stage with her, he has become acquainted with a number of tracks from this legendary album, starting with the indispensable “Pour que tu m’aimes encore”.
“Céline’s fans, whether in Australia, Germany or England, everyone knows this song. It is the best known of his French-language repertoire.”
Over time, says the musician, additional D’eux titles emerged in the concert.
“Without saying that we changed the songs, they became harder. In Le ballet, for example, the blues touch is more intense. In 2016 we did it, I don’t know, with a big orchestra, five strings and five brass instruments. For me as an arranger it was nice to do a big version.”
For you Céline – Homage to the Album D’eux at Agora de Québec, Sunday, at 8 p.m. There are still standing places available. The show will be broadcast on French channel M6 on September 15th. The broadcast date on TVA in Quebec has not yet been announced.
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