If you take the bus in Brussels this weekend, you might find yourself transported into the enchanting world of opera.
Instead of the usual spoken announcements, some stops will be sung by professional opera singers, transforming the city’s buses into a moving stage.
From 6 to 8 September and again from 19 to 21 September, passengers will be entertained with musical stop announcements to celebrate the opening of La Monnaie’s new opera season.
The initiative, orchestrated by the STIB-MIVB and La Monnaie, is more than a whimsical experiment. It is a celebration of culture in motion, an attempt to bring art into everyday life while highlighting public transport as the perfect way to reach the city’s cultural heartbeat.
A selection of key stops has been chosen where the aria replaces the announcement chime:
- De Brouckère (lines 29, 71, 89)
- Throne / Troon (54, 71)
- Porte de Namur / Naamsepoort (54, 71)
- Flagey (71, 96)
- ULB (71, 72)
- Plus: Buyl, Delta, and Bozar on line 71
These stops were selected with care. Names had to remain clear enough for passengers to recognise, and no two consecutive stops would be sung to avoid disorienting travellers. After testing different melodies, La Monnaie and STIB-MIVB settled on pieces where the names rang out recognisably, even in operatic form.
Behind the curtain
The singers recorded the names in studio conditions, before the files were adapted to STIB-MIVB’s system for broadcast. Technically, the project was easier than staging an opera: no costumes, no sets, just voices filling the everyday rhythm of Brussels.
The collaboration builds on a tradition of blending mobility and music. Previous STIB-MIVB projects include VIBES, shining a light on Brussels’ hip-hop talent, and live performances by the Brussels Philharmonic in metro stations.
"La Monnaie has clearly understood this in its active promotion of mobility solutions to reach its performances, and we are delighted," said Françoise Ledune, STIB-MIVB spokesperson, to The Brussels Times.
Encore?
For now, the "singing stops" will only grace these two weekends. But STIB-MIVB promises more cultural initiatives in the future, proof that in Brussels, even a bus ride can end on a high note.
