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Celine Dion returning to Vegas after year hiatus caring for ill husband

Celine Dion will return to the stage in Las Vegas in August after a yearlong hiatus to care for her husband after his throat-cancer surgery.
(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Celine Dion, who put her career on ice back in August to care for ailing husband Rene Angelil, is going back to Las Vegas late this summer to revive her Caesars Palace residency.

“It was Rene’s wish that I come back,” the singer, 46, said in a statement Wednesday, the 12th anniversary of her first show at the casino and hotel. “While my family will always be my priority, my fans are just as important to me. I look forward to performing again for all of you starting August 27th, and more importantly having Rene there with me.”

Angelil, 73, underwent surgery for throat cancer in December 2013, leading the singer to put her career -- including a planned tour of Asia -- on the back burner while he recovered. When she announced she was taking a break, Dion herself was struggling with an illness that caused throat inflammation.

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“I want to devote every ounce of my strength and energy to my husband’s healing, and to do so, it’s important for me to dedicate this time to him and to our children,” she said at the time.

In an interview that aired Wednesday on “Good Morning America,” she described the situation in more detail: “Rene could not talk, and he could not swallow; The surgery was major.”

She teared up as she declared her love for her husband, who was present during the interview. “He can’t eat. He’s got a feeding tube. I’ve got to feed him three times a day.”

The couple, who got married in December 1994, have three sons together: Rene-Charles, 14, and twins Eddy and Nelson, both 4. Angelil was first diagnosed with throat cancer in 1998.

Sometimes, Dion said, she has the kids help her feed their Papa. “I really believe that children know it all,” Dion told “GMA.” “We are afraid of explaining because we’re scared, because we’re worried.”

She’s returning to the stage now, she said, “for him. I’m doing it for my fans. I’m doing it for me.”

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Tickets for 40 newly scheduled shows, ranging in price from $55 to $250, go on sale Saturday. She’ll hit the stage in late August through Nov. 21, take a break for the holidays and pick up again at the end of December and into January.

Follow Christie D’Zurilla on Twitter @theCDZ and Google+. Follow the Ministry of Gossip on Twitter @LATcelebs.

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