"Though it's taken 70 years for Emmerich Kalman's operetta "The
Duchess of Chicago" to reach the Windy City, the wait has paid
off splendidly. The little-known musical gem gleams in its American
premiere production by Light Opera Works….For Light Opera
Works' staging, artistic director Philip Kraus teamed up woth
Gregg Opelka to create a spirited, contemporary translation of the
original libretto by Julius Brammer and Alfred Grunwald…Directed
with rapid-fire speed and winsome energy by Kraus, "The Duchess
of Chicago" intelligently addresses the timeless issue of whether
capitalism robs a country of its national identity. But the production
has its lighter moments. The opening nightclub scene creates
a series of arresting dichotomies, expressed mainly in dueling musical
styles. The Charleston collides with the Czardas, while royals are
ignored as celebrities like Charles Chaplin are greeted with a flourish.
Kraus lets his superb cast revel in the excess of the American Dream.
A wild west dance sequence and asparkly chorus-girl routine
underscore the glitz of Hollywood's early golden age."
Lucia Mauro Chicago Sun Times
Verdi: Rigoletto Pamiro Opera 1995
"Stage director Philip A. Kraus updated the traditional setting of a
sadistic, womanizing Duke and his equally sadistic courtiers to an
underworld club owner in South Miami and his gang of punks and thugs-
Rigoletto, the Duke's jester in the original version, has become an
embittered master of ceremonies at the club, spitting out his bile with
the worst of the lot until the tables are turned on him and his own
daughter is threatened. While this reviewer tends not to be overly
enamored of aggressively updated productions (many of which have a
forced and gimmicky quality), this production was quite compelling and,
in some ways, more effective at explaining the tensions between the
characters than the original courtly context...A rousing standing ovation
was provided for this fine performance and few have deserved it more."
Terrence O'Grady Green Bay Press Gazette
"Last Friday night at UWGB's Weidner Center, Pamiro Opera presented
a regional audience with Verdi's Rigoletto set in the South Miami of today.
In doing so Pamiro unleashed a performance of gritty, powerful music
theatre- exactly what opera should be...Philip Kraus's direction was
impeccable. Shifting the action to another time period often is no more
than an arbitrary device, but here it greatly clarified characters,
motivations, and situations. This was real life and death- no mere
parade of period costumes...The heart of this Rigoletto was genuine
greatness, capturing the very essence of Verdi's score."
Erik Eriksson Door County Advocate
Gilbert and Sullivan: Princess Ida Light Opera Works 1990
"Light Opera Works' weekend rendition of Princess Ida in Evanston left
us, like the heroine's father, a frustrated old curmudgeon who is foiled
by getting everything his heart desires, with 'nothing whatever to
grumble at'...between director Philip Kraus, conductor Philip J. Bauman
and choreographer Beatrix Rashid, it was immediately apparent that the
right hands were on the reins."
Suzanne Weiss Pioneer Press
Puccini: Madama Butterfly Pamiro Opera 1994
"Philip Kraus again crafted thoughtful, thorough theatrics for the
production, his seventh for Pamiro. Kraus has a sharp eye and ear,
as was evidenced in his complete feel of the final product. Kraus
also adds interesting touches to Pamiro efforts. This year, two
spectacularly costumed characters "lifted" the curtain on each act and
then signaled the close of each."
Warren Gerds Green Bay Press Gazette
Straus: The Chocolate Soldier Light Opera Works 1987
"Heard much as it sounded 79 years ago in Vienna (but as it's never
been done in America) and performed at least as persuasively, Light
Opera Works' recent definitive production of Oscar Straus' The Chocolate
Soldier was a sumptuous bit of Viennese pastry-- sweet and frothy-- and
very habit-forming. Director Philip Kraus...who doggedly spent a year and
half tracking down the original Viennese version and with Gregory
Opelka has provided a sprightly new English translation-- (Kraus)
moved the numbers swimmingly..."
Lawrence Bommer Windy City Times
Herbert: Naughty Marietta Light Opera Works 1983
"To his credit, director Philip Kraus let this crazy piece run its own
course. He staged the moments of unbridled melodrama, such as the
revelation of Marietta's true identity at the end of Act II, for all the
fire they held. With the scene's shadowy lighting and throbbing
voices, you might have thought it was from Fidelio. Yet in passages
such as the giddy courtship game played by delicious French maidens
and indelicate American soldiers, the comedy was light-headed as
it could be. The women squealed, the men harrumphed, and here
was romance exactly as Herbert had satirized it...Best of all, the
production as whole managed to mix farce and pathos without
leaning too much in either direction."
Howard Reich Chicago Tribune
Rossini: L'Italiana in Algeri Pamiro Opera 2002
"The stage action was sprightly. Stage director Philip Kraus'…
occasionally ribald touch seemed to work well on this occasion. The
libretto for "Italian Girl" is just the sort of semi-inspired nonsense that
is helped along by visual gags, and Kraus never seemed to run out of
them."
Terence O'Grady Green Bay Press Gazette
Gilbert and Sullivan: Ruddigore Light Opera Works 1996
"Halloween arrives early this year, courtesy of Light Opera Works,
and what a delightful Halloween it is...Director and LOW aristic
director obviously has a penchant for this sort of thing, and no
tombstone has been left unturned. Kraus must have been the
kind of kid who put together haunted houses effective enough
to scare the entire neighborhood. From the moment you enter Cahn
Auditorium in Evanston, there are cobwebs and bats flying about,
setting the proper mood for this bizarre tale of frivolous phantoms
and silly spirits...Kraus heightens the effect by staging the work in
an equally unconventional manner that is squarely in the Tim
Burton tradition, although at times spilling over into The Rocky
Horror Picture Show camp. The bridesmaids lamenting at the
beginning of the work, for instance, are in wedding gowns, but the
gowns are more like burial shrouds and the poor girls are cleverly
made up a la Beetlejuice, suggesting that they'll never get to
the church on time. Kraus himself appears as the ghostly old Sir
Roderic, flying about and dressed for the occasion a la Lon Chaney's
The Man in the Beaver Hat from Tod Browning's London After
Midnight. The look is complete with flying skeletons right out of
William Castle's House on Haunted Hill...Of course, none of these fun
gimmicks would mean very much if they weren't so cleverly integrated
into the overall story...It's not easy to be both funny and scary at the same
time, but Ruddigore succeeds on both levels, and so many more."
Dennis Polkow Spotlight, Press Publications
Strauss: Die Fledermaus Opera Midwest 1979
"Opera Midwest's Fledermaus is outstanding...Philip A. Kraus' direction
of the work could be presented by any major American opera company."
Robert C. Marsh Chicago Sun Times
Parmentier: The Lost Dauphin Pamiro Opera 2000
"Green Bay was given the rare treat of a world premiere opera
performance…"The Lost Dauphin" by F. Gordon Parmentier. This was
a major undertaking from beginning to end…both the opera and the
performance must be deemed a significant success….despite the dramatic
inconsistencies, the work delivered a powerful message of a man haunted
by demons and struggling with circumstances over which he has only
sporadic control. Philip Kraus' staging was hauntingly effective, as was
the stage and lighting design of Jeffrey Entwhistle whose sets were
distinguished by a fascinating mixture of semi-abstract Native American
and French symbols and engaging naturalism. The transformation of
William' bedroom in New York to the elegant ballroom of the French
court in Act 1 scene 3 was nothing short of magical, an effect rendered
all the more potent bt the eye catching costumes designed by Shifra Werch."
Terence O'Grady Green Bay Press Gazette
Gilbert and Sullivan: H.M.S. Pinafore Light Opera Works 1981
"Light Opera Works' Pinafore is a spirited romantic delight...let's
emulate the ship's sailors and give three cheers and one cheer more
for the hardy captain of this Pinafore, artistic director Philip Kraus.
Under his knowledgeable guidance, the production is tenderly romantic,
devastatingly clever, and sometimes, even riotously funny."
Valerie Scher Chicago Sun Times
Offenbach: Orpheus in the Underworld Light Opera Works 1981
"I must credit Philip A. Kraus, who directed the opera, with the manner
in which a large cast was assembled with every role acceptably played and
sung. The children were especially good; the principals were, on the whole,
very good indeed. How many caught the fact that Darrell J. Rowader was
made up to look like the composer? That was a brilliant point, as was the
neon sign pointing to hell. And those pink, scene stealing sheep in Act 1
aren't to be forgotten either"
Robert C. Marsh Chicago Sun Times
Puccini: Gianni Schicchi Light Opera Works 1982
"Although only in its second year of existence, the Evanston based Light
Opera Works...has found a niche in Chicago's opera scene: it mounts
light, comic fare that tends to be passed up by bigger companies in
town. Moreover, it's artistic director, Philip Kraus, has shown a flair
for picking worthwhile projects...Kraus' knowing direction kept up the
manic spirit of the comedy while observing the delicate, nuanced details
of the farce...It will be hard for me to forget the lively ensemble in which
they (the relatives) realize, one by one, that the money had
been left to the monks."
Ted Shen The Chicago Reader
Offenbach: The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein LOW 1986
"Philip Kraus' direction of a large supporting cast was unusually deft.
The officious Baron Puck, arriving on a bicycle, interrupted the overture,
insisting that the audience stand at proper attention for the Gerolstein
National Anthem. General Boum, striding about in an extravagantly
feathered hat, took cover during a bombing siege and emerged shaken
from his tent, white feathers reduced to few pitiful, electrified
curlicues...the best work I've seen this six-year-old company do."
Wynne Delacoma Chicago Sun Times
Kalman: The Gypsy Princess Light Opera Works 1990
"Any music organization that survives its first decade, let alone
the era of Reaganomics, deserves a hand. The Evanston-based Light
Opera Works has done just that, and even more impressive, it's
thriving...Kraus and his colleagues have come up with a persuasive
arguments why some operettas at least deserve another hearing...
Kraus' staging was smart and nuanced...Kraus, who has a Ph.D. in
music from Northwestern, is said to research each production
extensively. And it showed-- in the witty, updated translation of
the libretto and in the wonderful little touches, such as Boni's comic
bit with the phone. And Kraus did not forget the poignant sadness
that infiltrates even the gayest moments. The Gypsy Princess is
dated, but this production made much of its mirth and emotions
accessible to today's audiences, judging by the laughter in Cahn
Auditorium."
Ted Shen The Chicago Reader
