NEW YORK — Not often will concert-goers cough up $20 for a show without having any idea of what to expect from the stage.

But that scenario was played out by an overwhelming majority of the 200 or so people who came to the Angel Orensanz Center on Monday evening to see the Bell Atlantic Jazz Festival's presentation of Operazone, the brainchild chamber project of modern experimental composers Bill Laswell and Alan Douglas.

The curious and patient were rewarded with a generous set of gorgeously and radically rearranged versions of opera passages by Verdi and Puccini, among others, conducted by Karl Berger, who left ample space for solos and improvised breaks during his challenging orchestral movements.

Originally conceived solely as the album Operazone: The Redesign, which was just released on Knitting Factory Records, Operazone's performance at the converted synagogue was the group's first attempt at playing the material live. A string orchestra and a jazz band played eight pieces that, according to Berger, were alternate versions of those found on the album. One of the CD's reworked pieces is "Nessun Dormai" (RealAudio excerpt), an aria from Puccini's opera Turandot.

"For those of you who have had the chance to hear the album," Berger said, "well, you can go home and compare."

After an introduction by festival director Michael Dorf, the orchestra took the stage and appeared focused, if a bit rusty, delivering a somewhat loose opening composition that failed to spark the inquisitive audience. But with the animated Berger at the helm, the band found magic thereafter.

At the core of each piece lay afro-beats and dense rhythms reminiscent of African music visionary Fela Kuti. The combination of drummer Hamid Drake's pulsating funk variations, percussionist Karsh Kale's spirited tablas and the dreamy, exotic flugelhorn lines from Graham Haynes provided the backdrop, not unlike that of the electric-era Miles Davis, that has fueled Laswell's recent "constructions."

Curiously absent from the performance were Laswell and Douglas, the project's creators.

"I thought they were going to be here, leading this thing or sampling or something," said Christian Kubek, an avid fan of Laswell's Davis remix projects. "I guess I misread the bill, but (Berger) is fun to watch."

Berger deftly controlled the string section throughout, prodding its entrance and exit in each piece. He grabbed a seat at the grand piano at various points, providing intermittent flourishes and hard boplike solos.

Using a synth sample, Berger launched the orchestra into a Davis/Kuti-type of vamp that led to a full orchestral thought 20 minutes later, aided by the emotional solos of tenor saxophonist Peter Apfelbaum, trombonist Art Baron and upright bassist Ed Schuller.