La Cité Bleue

Formerly known as the Salle Patiño, La Cité Bleue is a concert hall located in an octagonal 1960s building within the Cité Universitaire in Champel. Recently renovated, it features high-tech acoustics and has a seating capacity of 300. The venue aims to promote performances that bring together leading artists from music, theater, dance, visual arts, and circus arts.

Avenue de Miremont 46,
1206 Genève

phone: +41 22 552 43 13

All Events at this Venue

3 – 7 February, 19:30

Les Dinos et l’Arche – A Darwinian Opera, a Dystopian Fable

Kids Performances

La Cité Bleue

World premiere in French at La Cité Bleue
Music: Thomas Leininger | Libretto: Cédric Costantino & Tina Hartmann

What if the dinosaurs missed Noah’s Ark—not because of a meteorite, but because a sundial was thrown off by the clouds? In this whimsical yet thought-provoking opera, Charles Darwin and his beloved Galápagos iguana travel through time to give dinosaurs a second chance. Boarding a fantastical ship, the creatures set off in search of a magical plant that might transform them into birds and save them from the Flood.

Part satire, part tender fable, Les Dinos et l’Arche brings together humans, animals, and extinct species in a distorted mirror of our own changing society. Through absurd dialogues, wild transformations, and a swirl of humor and emotion, the opera reminds us that survival often demands reinvention.

Directed by Julien Condemine, with musical direction by Leonardo García-Alarcón, and performed by a vibrant cast and a ten-piece ensemble, this visually daring and musically rich production draws on baroque influences to speak to curious minds of all ages.

Kids ages 10 and up.

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Thursday 19 February, 19:30

Oiseaux de passage

Performances

La Cité Bleue

La Cité Bleue welcomes soprano Natalie Dessay and pianist Philippe Cassard for an intimate and emotionally rich recital, shaped by their long-standing artistic partnership. Blending French and American art songs, the program explores voice and piano through lightness, drama, humor, and nostalgia. This concert is part of their final tour together, as Natalie Dessay prepares to retire from the stage — a rare and moving event not to be missed.

Music by Samuel Barber, Louis Beydts, Ernest Chausson, Reynaldo Hahn, Gian Carlo Menotti, Francis Poulenc, André Previn, and Maurice Ravel.

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4 – 6 March, 19:30

Bach and the Bible

Performances

La Cité Bleue

At La Cité Bleue, Bach and the Bible is a powerful and intimate performance by director Omar Porras and pianist Cédric Pescia. The show weaves together sacred biblical texts and Bach’s keyboard music, exploring the deep spiritual dialogue between word and sound. Porras voices the Gospels, Psalms, and prophecies, while Pescia delivers a luminous, heartfelt interpretation of Bach’s meditations.

Neither a recital nor a theatrical reading, the performance invites audiences—believers or not—to rediscover the universal spiritual depth of Bach’s music rooted in the Bible, creating a moving journey of meaning, beauty, and silence.

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Tuesday 10 March, 18:30

Nour

Kids

La Cité Bleue

Nour is afraid of the storm. To face her fears, she dives into her memories, each one revealing an object that helps her move forward. Guided by music and movement, she embarks on an imaginary journey where memories become treasures and stories take shape.

Set to the rhythms of the Near East, this poetic performance—led by Canticum Novum and a dancer—blends music, dance, and storytelling in a touching exploration of childhood, fear, and memory.

Kids ages 5 and up.

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Saturday 21 March, 19:30

Suites françaises by J.S. Bach

Performances

La Cité Bleue

Cédric Pescia presents his new recording of Bach’s French Suites, marking its Geneva launch with a recital. These six suites, composed during Bach’s Köthen period, follow the traditional French suite structure—blending elegance with contrapuntal richness.

Rooted in the dance traditions of the Renaissance and shaped by French influence, the French Suites reveal Bach’s mastery in transforming simple forms into profound musical statements. A key work for solo keyboard, and a cycle Pescia explores with depth and finesse.

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Friday 24 April, 19:30

Choreia

Performances

La Cité Bleue

With Choreia, a polyballet whose title refers to the harmonious union of song, speech, and dance within a chorus, the CocoonDance Company presents a performance featuring eight dancers who dissolve the conventional boundaries between stage and audience, dance and voice, choral singing and theatrical action.

In doing so, they reconnect with the roots of theatre, reviving the very essence of the chorus in Greek comedy—a blend of dance, song, and action. Choreia is a show that pushes the traditional limits of dance by exploring the concept of the chorus and redefining the interaction between performers and spectators.

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La Cité Bleue

La Cité Bleue

phone: +41 22 552 43 13