Curtis Bannister

He was born in the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, but due to his father's work, the family traveled constantly, also living in Baltimore and Columbia in Maryland, and finally settling in Green Bay, Wisconsin, where he grew up permanently. During his childhood he used to hum and sing songs all the time, especially church choir and radio songs, later joining the 'Green Bay Boy Choir', singing all over the country in choir contests. Curtis graduated from the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. He played Coalhouse Walker Jr in Ragtime, as Carlos in Undying Wallace, and his New York operatic debut as Florestan in Fidelito with Heartbeat Opera and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Fidelio production also toured the West Coast with performances at The Broad Stage in California, Scottsdale Performing Arts Center in Arizona, and the Mondavi Center in Davis, California. In 2022 Bannister stars as Juba Freeman in the world premiere of Quamino's Map with Chicago Opera Theater Company following her performances with the company as Baglioni in Catan's Rappaccini's Daughter of Rappaccini. In 2021, Bannister became the new face of the Pearl Milling Company (formerly known as Aunt Jemima) brand rebranding. Bannister joined the Apple TV+ series, Dickinson, as Marquis. He makes his Chicago Opera Theater directorial debut in The Transformation of Jane Doe, and performs on the visual album, Breathing Free, produced by Heartbeat Opera. Curtis performed with Heather Headley, for the Goodman Theater, and made his Tribeca Film Festival debut in the feature film The Conductor. He made his Philadelphia Orchestra debut, as Ragotski, in Candide, directed by Yannick Nezet-Seguin and starring Bradley Cooper and Carey Mulligan. He made his Ravinia Festival debut with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in Bernstein's Mass, and returned to the role of Sid Sorokin in The Pajama Game. He played Theseus in The Gospel at Colonus with Skylight Music Theatre. He co-starred in NBC's Chicago Fire as Reimers, debuted with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra as Ragotski/Cacambo in Candide and Thomas in Amazing Grace, as well as in the musical series Great Performances with a small role. In 2022, he joins Marvel Studios' Black Panther: Wakanda Forever in an undisclosed role.