Celine Dion [ tickets ]--who played a concert at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas just before taking a self-imposed sabbatical from touring in January 2000--has agreed to perform in 200 shows a year at a new theater to be constructed at the casino. The new production starring Dion is scheduled to debut in March 2003.

To house the show, a new 4,000-seat theater designed to resemble the Colosseum in Rome--one with a 22,000-square-foot stage--will be constructed on the current site of Caesar's 1,000-seat Circus Maximus theater. Dion's performance will be the centerpiece of a theatrical presentation directed by Franco Dragone, who has directed most of Cirque du Soleil's productions. The engagement is scheduled to run for at least three years.

The production will be produced by Dion and her husband René Angélil’s company, CDA Productions Inc., in association with Dragone’s company. Concerts West, a Los Angeles-based concert promotions firm that was purchased last year by multi-billionaire Phil Anschultz's Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), will present the show.

Dion is the biggest musical artists to ink a long-term performance deal at a Las Vegas casino since Elvis Presley sold out 837 consecutive shows during an exclusive 1969-1976 engagement at the Las Vegas Hilton Theater.

In 1999, Dion announced plans to take at least two or three years off from touring, in order to spend more time with Angelil and to start a family.