A year ago, Jenene Caramielo was facing breast cancer reconstructive surgery. She found hope and inspiration in the music and life of Celine Dion.
“She has been my idol since childhood, and I needed her music and example,” Caramielo, 42, said Sunday evening. She performed a sold out Paisans Club concert in SeaBreeze Recreation Center.
The bond between Caramielo and Dion has grown stronger since Jenene was diagnosed with breast cancer a couple years ago. During Sunday’s show – called “Celebrating Celine” – Caramielo sang a Dion song called “Courage.”
“That song truly has been an inspiration for me,” she said. “That song kept me going.”
On stage, Caramielo doesn’t try to imitate Dion. “Nobody can imitate Celine Dion,” she said. “I’m trying to tell my story through her music, with my voice. I’m looking at her music with my eyes.”
Her first encounter with performing Dion’s music came when she was in the sixth grade. “I was in the school talent show,” Caramielo said. “I sang, ‘The Power of Love,’ and when I got on that stage and sang that song, I knew this is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.”
Dion, like Caramielo, must cope with serious health issues. Dion suffers from “stiff-person syndrome.” She recently posted online that “trying to overcome” stiff-person syndrome was “one of the hardest experiences” of her life.
Caramielo understands the challenge of combating a disease. “I’ve been through a lot, and Celine has been through a lot. That makes her music more special to me.”
She opened the show with a set of Dion’s songs. Caramielo has flowing brown hair and wore a red-sequined pantsuit. She offered powerful vocals on “It’s All Coming Back to Me Now,” “Power of Love” and “Because You Loved Me” and “All By Myself.”
The set list included such Dion classics as: “Love Can Move Mountains,” “Where Does My Heart Beat Now,” “That’ the Way It Is,” “To Love You More,” and “A New Day Has Come.”
“Jenene is really special,” said Jerry Vicenti, who with his wife Annette, heads the Paisans Club. “Jenene’s a tremendous talent and that’s what we bring to our club.”
Caramielo is a classically-trained vocalist, who studied with the Civic Light Opera in Pittsburgh, and Carnegie Mellon University. She has appeared in New York City clubs and also throughout Florida. She also has performed at the White House.
On stage, Caramielo is a dynamic presence with her graceful movements and wide-ranging vocals. She is equally at home with the spiritual reverence of “The Prayer,” but can rock out on “River Deep Mountain High.”
The climax came with “My Heart Will Go On,” and Caramielo put all her heart into that number.
Just like Celine Dion.