“La Nuit du Conte” 2023: what activities in the City of Geneva?

From audio books to collections of songs, poems and lullabies to playlists accompanying certain teenage novels, music is an integral part of numerous children’s books, bringing them to life.

On 10 November 2023, the 33rd edition of “la Nuit du conte en Suisse” offer the public the chance to immerse themselves in melodious literary worlds. Let’s hear it for the music!

“L’arbre qui parle”, or the talking tree

Saint-Jean Library, 6 p.m. to 6.30 p.m.

The actor, musician and painter Olivier Sidore invites the young public on a journey through two tales: “L’arbre qui parle”, which whisks us off to the African savannah with Papa Hyena, and “L’Échidné et l’arbre ombrageux” (the spiny anteater and the shady tree), which takes us to Aboriginal Australia for a tale from the time of dreams to the sound of a didgeridoo.

“L’Homme qui plantait des arbres”, or the man who planted trees

Saint-Jean Community Centre, 7.30 p.m. to 8.30 p.m.

Two tales performed by Olivier Sidore will take the audience on a journey to the sound of spring music and the harmonic shepherd’s flute. First stop the Parisian countryside, with “le beau cadeau” (the beautiful gift), followed by les Alpes de Hautes-Provences, with “L’Homme qui plantait des arbres”, by Jean Giono. The event will be followed by a cocktail offered by the Saint-Jean Community Centre.

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A host of tales in les Grottes

Different venues around les Grottes, 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.

The Conteurs de Genève await the public in the district of les Grottes. On the programme: tales, sometimes accompanied by a snack, musical entertainment with mulled wine and soup on Place des Grottes and a commented walk through the district. An afternoon full of stories and conviviality!

Music and song at la Perle du Lac

Science History Museum (MHS), 5 p.m. to 9.30 p.m.

Between the magic of instruments, gentle songs and the music of the meadows and woodlands, the Conteurs de Genève serve up an evening of music at the Science History Museum, at the heart of Parc de la Perle du Lac. Intended for a wide audience aged 4 and over, the evening will be rounded off with a drink and a light snack.

Arabic and Persian tales

Plainpalais Community Centre, 6.45 p.m. to 7.45 p.m.

Traditional Arabic and Persian tales are accompanied by “BEZEF” (“lots of”) surprises, as shown by the storyteller Nefissa Benouniche. She invites the public, aged 10 and over, to a show in constant fusion, summoning up North African history, Persian chants, Egyptian history and Sephardic song to the airs of “La belle Hélène” by Offenbach.

FULL - The music of bees

MEG, 5.30 p.m.

The Museum of Ethnography in Geneva offers children aged 6 and over, accompanied by an adult, the chance to discover the part of its temporary exhibition devoted to bees. The acoustic installation “Be a Bee” by Beat Hofmann and Andrew Phillips will provide an opportunity to discover the music of bees before learning more about life in a hive and listening to tales in the library’s music room.

La Nuit du conte in Switzerland

Every year since 1990, “La Nuit du conte en Suisse” has been organised in all the country’s language regions, where numerous institutions and partners hold events focussing on tales, storytelling and public readings.
This national project is the fruit of a collaboration between the Institut suisse Jeunesse et Médias ISJM, Bibliomedia et UNICEF Switzerland and Liechtenstein, sponsored by the Office fédéral Federal Office of Culture (FOC).