Fat lady to sing for flash mob

Did the flash mob phenomenon come and go as fast as, well, a flash mob?

The buzz died down quickly for last year's fad: the brief, impromptu and often improbable gathering--a sort of cross between guerrilla marketing and a 1960s happening. But the flash mob spirit lives on in the music scene among groups as divergent as punk rockers and opera singers.

British newspapers are reporting that the BBC plans in October to stage and broadcast a live, hour-long opera--featuring nearly 70 musicians and singers--at one of London's busiest subway stations at the tail end of the evening commute. A flash mob of spectators will be alerted on that day by text message to join the chorus and gambol on the platform. A BBC representative says the event is intended both to "baffle commuters" and to "lend a bit of fun" to the end of the workday.

The idea for such a digitally induced mob scene isn't original to the "Madame Butterfly" set, however. Earlier this summer, a punk outfit called The Others took a more adventurous route and commandeered a pair of London subway cars for a "furious 30-minute set" before a crowd of 200, according to Wired News. The site reports that the band first summoned fans with a message to its Web forum, and those fans used SMS messages to tip off others about the event.

With the BBC gig, at least, it seems that "the next social revolution" will be televised, after all.