Bainbridge Performing Arts presents two productions this weekend that are a departure from the organization’s standard fare of plays, musicals or classical concerts.

The first presentation in the “DECLASSIFIED” series is a performance by the Puget Sound-based Black Box Opera Theater, 7:30 p.m. Sept. 15.

That show is followed by a 3 p.m. Sept. 17 concert by the Island Soundscape Players called “Crossovers I — Tango, Country and the Blues.” It is the first concert of the group’s 2006-2007 season which is dubbed “Crossover.”

The Black Box Opera Theater will present “Much Ado About Shakespeare: A Look at the Bard Through Word and Song,” with an exploration of the musical setting of Shakespeare’s prose, by composers such as Benjamin Britten, Hector Berlioz and Stephen Sondheim.

This opera company is unique in that it operates on a theatrical ensemble system, with all the members staying together rather than changing with every performance. The singers, directors, musicians and conductors work together on a regular basis.

“As an ensemble, artists challenge each other to grow as performers in a safe, supportive artistic home where they don’t have that innate, but unspoken, sense of needing always to audition for each other and management,” they have said.

The group believes that by working together throughout a season, and beyond, they can get past the “getting to know you” stage to a point where they create a “transcendent experience.”

The 18 members of the troupe come from a wide variety of backgrounds and have had leading roles in major opera companies across the United States, including the New York City Opera, Washington National Opera at the Kennedy Center, the Chicago Lyric Opera and Wolf Trap.

The Black Box Opera Theater performs 7:30 p.m. Sept. 15 at The Playhouse, 200 Madison Ave. N, Bainbridge Island.

Tickets are $10 all seats, available at the box office, by phone at (206) 842-8569 or online at theplayhouse.org.

Soundscape season opener

Island Soundscape Players opens its third season with a concert featuring chamber works of composers who have borrowed from other genres and incorporated influences from pop, blues, country and tango.

“Tribute to the Blues,” by New Zealand composer Jack Body, recreates the music of blues greats Big Joe Turner, John Lee Hooker and Mary Lou Williams, while also reinterpreting the works of the composers.

In the aptly-named “Music for Pieces of Wood,” composer Steve Reich creates the pulsing and hypnotic rhythms of African drumming from the austere sounds of wood claves.

“Songs in Black,” by Bainbridge composer Allen Strange, is based on Johnny Cash tunes and features vocals by Bainbridge musician Peter Spencer.

Completing the concert program is a selection of tangos by composers John Mackey, John Cage, Erik Satie and Astor Piazolla.

Island Soundscape Players was founded by Pat Strange, and features Strange on violin, Sue Jane Bryant, viola; Priscilla Jones, cello; Patty Beasley, clarinet; William Trimble, saxophone; Aaron Otheim, piano; Suzanne Burton, flute; Stephen Ruppenthal, trumpet; Dave Bristow, keyboards; Jack Lake, percussion; Peter Spencer, vocals; and Allen Strange on bass guitar.

Island Soundscape Players performs “Crossovers I — Tango, Country and the Blues,” 3 p.m. Sept. 17 at The Playhouse.

Tickets are $10 all seats, also available at the outlets listed above.