The singer Céline Dion, whose career is on hold due to a neurological illness, is promising to get back to her fans. She told the 8 o’clock news on TF1 on Sunday 16 June that she would be returning to the stage

“I’m going to return to the stage,” said the 56-year-old artist during an interview recorded in Las Vegas with Anne-Claire Coudray. “I don’t know when, but I’m going to come back on stage.”

Although she acknowledges that her voice has changed, she does not reject it, but tries to adapt to it. She explains that the condition affects her tendons, nerves and muscles, all of which are essential for singing. “To hear a voice that is not my own is to hear a voice that needs rehabilitation. It’s coming, slowly.”

This interview was given to Anne-Claire Coudray a few days before the release of the documentary Je suis: Céline Dion, due on Prime Video on 25 June. Directed by Irene Taylor, the film sheds light on the singer’s daily life, punctuated by her battle with Stiff Person Syndrome, a rare neurological disorder. Céline Dion described the symptoms:

“I want to be on stage tomorrow. But if I do too much, I can have an attack. My body stiffens, my voice, everything. Everything stops working. For a few minutes or hours.”

According to the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), Stiff Man Syndrome is a rare neurological disorder characterised by fluctuating rigidity of the trunk and limb muscles and increased sensitivity to external stimuli, which can trigger muscle spasms.

Céline Dion explained that these “episodes” can cause her to lose consciousness and above all affect her ability to sing, the first symptom having appeared “almost 17 years ago”. She tried to adapt by changing the way she sang, but the spasms made it difficult.

“It started in my voice. I tried to find bridges, tunnels, to take my voice to different places… Singing a bit more through my nose… It was spasms,” she described. “It was as if I put my hand on your throat and nothing worked any more. It happened to me in the middle of a concert (…) When I couldn’t sing, we cancelled shows.”

Faced with uncertainty, Céline Dion chose to self-medicate for a long time, taking very dangerous drugs such as Valium, without a clear diagnosis. She confesses that this period frightened her, realising that she had to choose between continuing and risking ending her life or stopping this self-medication for her family’s sake.

Aware that her illness “is never going to go away”, Céline Dion wanted to share her story with the public in the documentary. “They offered me an incredible life. Every time I’ve invited them, they’ve been there (…) If this is something that’s going to take me away, the newspapers mustn’t say I’m dead, when I’m alive.”

She concluded with a message to her fans: “Don’t go through your pain alone. Talk to your neighbours, your lovers, your children. Accept your weaknesses, talk about them and seek help. Don’t suffer alone.”