By Brianna HolcombArts & Entertainment Editor
Hofstra Opera Theater (H.O.T) brought "The Conspirators," a tale of sparring spouses and "The Winter Journey," a tale of a traveler’s trudge towards death, to John Cranford Adams Playhouse on Jan. 30.
The night began with "The Conspirators," the satirical opera tells the story of a group of army wives who come together to make a plan to stop their husband’s from ever going to war again. Of course, how would any woman stop a man from doing something? By denying him sex.
Now, if we have not learned anything from the period of baby boomers in the United States, we know that once a man gets home from war things tend to get heated between these couples.
This group of women is led by Barbara, played by Senior Stephanie Weiss, who is married to the general of the army and is tired of constantly having her husband leave her for war. The women laugh at her no sex proposal, stating how much they have waited and yearned for their husbands while they were away.
After futile arguments and some pleading they eventually succumb and take an oath to deny their husbands sex upon their return. Upon finding out his wife has conspired against him, the general, played by Ian O’Malley, conspires to act coldly towards his wife in return.
Through temptation, a few arguments, and, of course, a few creatively written protest signs, the couples find a way to come to a conclusion that satisfies them all.
The Conspirators is the age old battle of the sexes with the fight for peace and love for the world. The performances by the cast, chorus, as well as orchestra were phenomenal and entertaining.
After a brief intermission, the show continued with "The Winter Journey." At the rise of the curtain, the audience is faced with what can only be a funeral. The audience then watched the story of a traveler, who is caught on an event from his past, slowly makes his way towards his death.
The audience members watch as he trudges along facing the society that acted coldly towards him, and eventually resolves to face death. Ian O’Malley delivered beautifully on the final number bringing forth all the pain and sadness that is associated with death.
Throughout both performances the cast showcased their amazing voices with solos from Elisa Galindez, Stephanie Weiss, Ian O’Malley, Elizabeth Sarian, Al Shin and many more. H.O.T took into account their audience by projecting subtitles to the songs, as they were sung in German, above the stage throughout the performance. Even if you do not understand German the show is easy to follow along and the emotion portrayed by the cast makes it easy to understand what is going on.
This show was well put together and the cast did a phenomenal job.