Leonard Cohen acknowledges his fans as he begins his performance in Toronto June 6. He got an exuberant reception Monday in Montreal. (Aaron Harris/Canadian Press)

Montreal-born poet-singer Leonard Cohen delighted legions of fans in his hometown Monday night when he took the stage at Place des Arts for one of three highly anticipated sold-out shows.

An exuberant crowd greeted Cohen with a standing ovation, yelling and whistling as soon as the singer sauntered on stage with a sparkling smile.

"Ça me touche profondément, vraiment [this moves me deeply, really]," he said in French, dressed elegantly in a grey suit and fedora.

Cohen, 73, spoke in French during several parts of his three-hour show, translating some of his lyrics as a means of introducing his songs.

"Fais-moi danser jusqu'au bout de l'amour," he said in his velvety voice, before launching into Dance Me to the End of Love, which brought the crowd to its feet in one of several ovations.

It was Cohen's first Montreal concert since 1993, when he played his native city after releasing his album The Future.

"J'espère que malgré les prix gonflés [des billets] vous ne serez pas décus ce soir [I hope you won't be disappointed tonight despite the inflated ticket prices]," he said, alluding to the financial difficulties that brought him out on tour for the first time in 15 years. (Cohen has accused his former business manager, Kelley Lynch, of siphoning $5 million US from his personal accounts.)

Backed by nine musicians, including three singers, Cohen revisited his entire repertoire, including Bird on a Wire, Suzanne, Tower of Song, Take this Waltz and Hallelujah.

Cohen returned to the stage for two encores, performing Famous Blue Raincoat and So Long, Marianne.

"My love, I hope you have been satisfied," he concluded in French, closing his three-hour show with words from 17-th century French poet Jean de la Fontaine. "Il y a longtemps que je t'aime; jamais je ne t'oublierai."

Cohen performs again Tuesday and Wednesday night at Place des Arts, in anticipation of the International Jazz Festival later this week, which will honour him with its prestigious Spirit Award.

He then returns to Europe to resume his tour, which includes a stop at the Glastonbury Music Festival in late June and shows in France, Belgium and Switzerland.