In a heart-breaking tribute to her husband of 20 years, Celine Dion sang ‘The First Time I Ever I Saw Your face’, as home videos of her family played in the background at her concert in Vegas.
Smiling bravely through his pain, cancer-stricken René Angélil offered a gentle wave to fans of his wife, Celine Dion.
Rene can be seen giving a tender wave in one clip, which appeared to be recent, while another showed him communicating with giggling son Nelson using his hands.
The former manager has battled three bouts of cancer, and is unable to speak due to extensive surgery on his throat.
During the show, the crowd cheered whenever Celine’s husband could be seen on the large screen behind her.
She said that Rene had encouraged her to return to her residency at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace.
‘I didn’t want to be here at first, I don’t need it,’ Celine explained. ‘Don’t get me wrong, I love singing for people, but I have priorities. But Rene really gave me a gift.’
According to the National Enquirer, Celine was hoping that Rene would be able to sit front row when she returned on August 27, but he was not well enough.
Instead, he watched the concert on a live feed in the couple’s Nevada home.
Celine and Rene met when she was 12 and she describes him as ‘the only boyfriend I’ve ever had’.
