Shania Twain will return to the concert stage on Dec. 1, 2012, she announced at a press event today. Whether or not she’ll have a full album of new music by then is unclear.
Twain, currently starring in a reality series on the Oprah Winfrey Network, will begin a two-year concert commitment at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas with 10 shows in the first 15 days of December 2012. The deal with Caesars commits her to 60 concerts per years, or a total of 120.
It also makes her the first country artist to engage in a residency at the venue, which currently boasts similar arrangements with Celine Dion, Elton John and Rod Stewart.
Insisting she won’t necessarily go “over the top” with the production, Twain still expects to “go nuts creatively,” she said while announcing the dates Wednesday at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville. “I don’t know where that’s going to bring me. Today is really where this begins, as far as dreaming about the possibilities.”
The Colosseum, which allows an artist to create a big production without having to make the pieces compatible with semi trucks, presents a gigantic canvas for production opportunities.
It’s “no boundaries, no perimeters,” Twain said. “That’s what this stage allows an artist to do compared to going on tour.”
Tickets for the pre-sale will be available to American Express card members during tonight’s telecast of the CMT Music Awards, where she is scheduled to be a presenter. Priced from $55-$250, tickets go on sale to the general public beginning June 19.
Twain has recently battled vocal problems, an issue revealed during the OWN series, “Why Not? With Shania Twain,” though she insisted that she will be ready for the run in Vegas. The city is notoriously difficult for singers because of its dry air.
Twain has never missed a concert in the past, she said, and doctors have assured her she can fulfill the Caesars commitment.
“I’m confident, they’re confident and it’s all good,” she said.
“One of the things about the Colosseum is we’re very sensitive to an artist’s voice, and a lot of care and time was put into that,” AEG Live/Concerts West president and co-CEO John Meglen said. “A micro climate exists on stage to protect the vocal cords. The entire backstage has a tremendous humidification on it.”
Twain has not released an album of all-new material since “Up!” in November 2002. She will debut a new song, “Today Is Your Day,” co-produced by Nathan Chapman in the OWN series June 12. Writing that song opened her up creatively, and she plans to begin recording a new album this summer.
“I’m not putting any pressure on myself as to when it will be ready,” she said. “Will it be before Dec. 1, 2012? I don’t know.”
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