Like the enormous, sheer, white, ruffled curtains that dominated her stage, everything about French-Canadian singer Celine Dion last night at the Molson Amphitheatre was perfect.

Perfect, blonde-streaked hair. Perfect makeup and nails. Perfect body (guess she's not pregnant yet) in a skintight, white leather, backless jumpsuit and matching blazer. (Think Emma Peel as a Barbie doll). Perfect manners -- she said: "It feels wonderful to be in Toronto. It's great to be home," after her world tour had taken her to Australia, New Zealand and the U.S. Perfect choreography. Perfect pitch on all 18 songs that she enthusiastically and dramatically presented -- the majority of which were from her latest best-selling album, Falling Into You, including her No. 1 single Because You Loved Me which she saved for the very end.

But it was during the looser moments that Celine Dion, the person, seemed to finally emerge from Celine Dion, the image, where the music -- while professionally delivered -- suffered from a distinct lack of soul.

Case in point being her cover of River Deep, Mountain High, in which you couldn't help but compare it to the the sweaty, rock 'n' roll version by Tina Turner.

When Dion finally let her hair down -- so to speak -- about half way through the show, the energy picked up and the atmosphere improved.

Like when she talked about tabloid rumors that she's anorexic. "I'm not sick, okay? I wouldn't be here tonight. I feel in top shape."

Or when she brought out Japanese violinist Taro Hakase to accompany her on their No. 1 hit in Japan, To Love You More.

Or when her three wonderful back-up dancers joined her at the front of the stage for a rousing version of Love Can Move Mountains right before the encore.

And, truth be told, the crowd of 11,500 besotted fans -- everyone from teenage girls to elderly couples -- couldn't have cared less if she had just sat on a chair and sang her guts out.

They seemed happiest when Dion hit the high notes, and boy, did she ever, on such songs as The Power Of Love (for which they gave her a standing ovation), All By Myself, If You Asked Me Too, Beauty And The Beast (backup singer Terry Bradford substituted rather nicely for Peabo Bryson), Where Does My Heart Beat Now and Declaration Of Love.

Dion plays again tonight on the last date of her Canadian tour and general admission tickets are still available on the lawn.

SUN RATING: 4 out of 5