Biography
Céline Marie Claudette Dion (Fr-Celine-Dion.ogg /seɪlɪn dɪɒn/ (help·info)) CC OQ (born March 30, 1968 in Charlemagne, Quebec) is a Canadian pop singer, occasional songwriter and actress. Born to a large, impoverished family, Dion emerged as a teen star in the French-speaking world after her manager and future husband René Angélil mortgaged his home to finance her first record.
Dion had first gained international recognition in the 1980s by winning both the 1982 Yamaha World Popular Song Festival and the 1988 Eurovision Song Contest. Following a series of French albums in the early 1980s, she signed on to Sony Records in 1986. During the 1990s, with the help of Angélil, she achieved worldwide success with several English and French albums, becoming one of the most successful artists in pop music history. However, in 1999 at the height of her success, Dion announced a temporary retirement from entertainment in order to start a family and spend time with her husband, who had been diagnosed with cancer. She returned to the music scene in 2002 and signed a three-year (later extended to almost five years) contract to perform nightly in a five-star theatrical show at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas.
Dion's music has been influenced by genres ranging from rock and R&B to gospel and classical. While her releases have often received mixed critical reception, she is renowned for her technically skilled and powerful vocals. In 2004, after surpassing 175 million in album sales worldwide, she was presented with the Chopard Diamond Award at the World Music Awards for becoming the best selling female artist of all time. In April 2007 Sony BMG announced that Celine Dion had sold over 200 million albums worldwide.
Luciano Pavarotti Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI (12 October 1935 – 6 September 2007) was an Italian operatic tenor, who also crossed over into popular music. He was one of the most commercially successful tenors of all time. He was one of "The Three Tenors" and became well known for his televised concerts and media appearances. Pavarotti was also noted for his charity work benefiting refugees, the Red Cross and other causes.
Pavarotti began his professional career as a tenor in 1961 in Italy. He sang in opera houses in The Netherlands, Vienna, London, Ankara, Budapest and Barcelona. The young tenor earned valuable experience and recognition while touring Australia at the invitation of soprano Joan Sutherland in 1965. He made his US debut in Miami soon afterwards, also on Sutherland's recommendation. His position as a leading tenor was consolidated in the years between 1966 and 1972, during which time he first appeared at Milan's La Scala and other major European houses. The late 1970s and 1980s saw Pavarotti continue to make significant appearances in the world's foremost opera houses. He made numerous recordings of complete operas and individual arias, too, and established himself as one of the top classical singers of his era.
His final performance in an opera was at the Metropolitan in March 2004. The 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, saw him on stage for the last time, where Pavarotti lip-synced Nessun dorma, with the crowd serving as the aria's chorus, and he received a thunderous standing ovation. On Thursday 6 September 2007, he died at home in Modena from pancreatic cancer, aged 71.
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