Wikipedia / A New Day...
Wikipedia / A New Day...
A New Day... was the first concert residency by Canadian singer Celine Dion, staged at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. Conceived and directed by Franco Dragone, the production was developed to accompany Dion's seventh English‑language studio album, A New Day Has Come (2002). The show premiered on 25 March 2003 and concluded on 15 December 2007.
Originally contracted for a three‑year run, the residency earned Dion approximately US$100 million in base compensation, along with 50 percent of the profits. Due to strong demand and sustained commercial success, the engagement was extended for two additional years. A New Day... ultimately became the highest‑grossing concert residency in history, generating more than US$385 million ($ million in dollars) and attracting nearly three million attendees across 714 performances.
Dion returned to Las Vegas on 15 March 2011 for her second residency, Celine.
Background and creation
Dion originally intended to title the show Muse, but the British rock band of the same name held the worldwide performing rights to the name. Dion offered the group $50,000 in exchange for those rights, an offer they declined. Lead singer Matthew Bellamy explained that the band did not want audiences to assume they were appearing as Dion's supporting act.
Early design plans called for a large video projector to serve as the primary stage backdrop. However, lighting designer Yves Aucoin noted that dancers moving in front of the projection would cast distracting shadows. In response, René Angélil approached entertainment executive Phil Anschutz, whose AEG Live was financing the production, and secured an additional $10 million to construct what became the largest indoor LED screen in North America. Manufactured by Mitsubishi Diamond Vision, the screen was an HDTV installation with an 8 mm dot pitch, assembled from multiple LED panels to create a seamless high‑resolution display.
Critical reception
Upon its debut, A New Day... received mixed reviews, with several critics noting an uneven balance between theatrical elements and traditional concert performance. Writing for TheaterMania.com, Christine Westley praised the production design but argued that Dion's presence was "inconsequential at best". She added that the show's most awkward moments occurred when the dancers exited and Dion interacted directly with the audience, creating what she described as a noticeable divide between Franco Dragone's theatrical vision and a conventional Celine Dion concert.
Phil Gallo of Variety similarly commended the visual design but criticized the selection and interpretation of several classic songs. He wrote that Dion's renditions of "At Last", "Fever", and "I've Got the World on a String" highlighted what he viewed as a lack of stylistic depth, noting that her phrasing closely mirrored earlier performers. Gallo also remarked that the arrangement of "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" became increasingly overwrought and questioned the decision to stage the number with Dion elevated high above the stage. He concluded that while Dion appeared confident, audience engagement on opening night was limited unless she explicitly encouraged participation.
In the documentary A New Day... The Secrets, included with Live in Las Vegas: A New Day..., Dion and Dragone discussed adjustments made throughout the show's run, such as increasing the visibility of the band and refining Dion's styling to better align with audience expectations.
As the production approached its final performances, reviews grew more positive. Mike Weatherford of the Las Vegas Review-Journal wrote that Dion had "grown into" the show and that it had evolved into a polished pop spectacle with artistic touches, rather than the more experimental concept originally presented. He noted the removal of early staging choices, the introduction of new musical segments, and a shift toward a more energetic finale. Weatherford concluded that although some of the initial ambition had been scaled back, the production continued to deliver striking visual moments.
Accolades
Broadcasts and recordings
The show's opening night was filmed and broadcast as a television special for CBS under the title Celine in Las Vegas, Opening Night Live. Hosted by Justin Timberlake, the program aired on 25 March 2003.
In November 2003, the production was recorded again for commercial release. The resulting live album, A New Day... Live in Las Vegas, was issued in June 2004 and includes 13 songs from the show. A special edition of the album also contains a bonus DVD, One Year... One Heart, narrated by comedian Wayne Brady. The documentary presents rehearsal footage, behind‑the‑scenes material, moments with Dion's family, and a look at the recording of her album One Heart. The album reached number 10 on the US Billboard 200 and was certified gold by the RIAA for shipments exceeding 500,000 copies.
The show was filmed a final time in high definition in January 2007 and released on 7 December 2007 as Live in Las Vegas: A New Day.... The two‑disc set contains the full concert along with three documentaries: Because You Loved Me (A Tribute to the Fans), A New Day: All Access, and A New Day: The Secrets. The release achieved substantial international success, topping the DVD charts in the United States, United Kingdom, France, Japan, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, New Zealand, and Estonia, and placing within the top 10 in numerous other markets worldwide.
Set list
The following set list is from the 29 March 2003 performance and does not represent all shows throughout the residency.
"Seduces Me"
"If I Could"
"At Last"
"Fever"
"A New Love" (instrumental)
"I Surrender"
"Aria di Lucia de Lammermoor" (instrumental)
"I Wish"
Shows
Legs 1–10
Legs 11–20
Legs 21–28
Annual boxscore
Personnel
Sources:
Celine Dion – lead vocals
Band
Claude "Mego" Lemay – conductor, piano
Jean-Sébastien Carré – violin
André Coutu – guitar
Paul Picard – percussion (until 2006)
Nannette Fortier – percussion (from 2007)
Yves Frulla – keyboards
Marc Langis – bass guitar
Dominique Messier – drums
Julie McInnes – cello
Élise Duguay – backing vocals, cello, tin whistle
Mary-Lou Gauthier – backing vocals
Barnev Valsaint – backing vocals
Production
Franco Dragone – director
Pavel Brun – associate director
Claude "Mego" Lemay – musical director
Brian Burke – artistic director
Michel Crête – set and image design
Yves "Lapin" Aucoin – lighting design
Denis Savage – sound design
Dirk Decloedt – projection content design
Annie Horth – costume design
Dominique Lemieux – costume design
Seble Maaza – costume design
Richard Ruiz – costume design
Mia Michaels – choreography
Elijah Brown – white character
Deon Ridley – dance captain
Tina Cannon – dance captain
Lavert Benefield – dance captain
Andrea Ziegler – dance captain
See also
References