Ravinia 2019, Issue 4, Week 7

CURTIS BANNISTER Curtis Bannister has been seen as Reimers on seasons 6 and 7 of NBC’s Chicago Fire , and since late 2018 he has been featured as Jamie in The Last Five Years , the Cele- brant in Bernstein’s Mass , and the title character of Werther with the Musica Lumina Orchestra. This year, Bannister has made debuts with Saint Petersburg Opera (Paul in Kiss Me, Kate ), Chica- go Opera Theatre (Rev. Jerome Mitchell in Free- dom Song ), and Philadelphia Orchestra (Ragots- ki in Candide ), and will be making debuts with Theatre at the Center (Sid Sorokin in The Paja- ma Game ) and the Metropolitan Opera (Jim in Porgy and Bess ). Recent performance highlights include Set in The Scorpions’ Sting (Lyric Opera of Chicago), Jean in Marie Christine (BoHo The- atre), tenor soloist in Haydn’s “Lord Nelson” Mass (Baltimore Choral Arts Society), Jim Conley and Newt Lee in Parade (Writers Theatre), Ragotski and Cacambo in Candide (Baltimore Symphony), Monty in Saturday Night Fever (Finger Lakes Mu- sical Theatre Festival), and his international recit- al debut at the Louvre. thecurtisbannister.com • Instagram @thee_cb MATT BOEHLER A native of Minneapo- lis, MN, bass Matt Boe- hler is a singer equally at home on the inter- national opera stage as well as on the concert platform. He trained as an actor at Viterbo College, an opera singer at Juilliard, and a composer at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. He has appeared as a principal artist with The Metropolitan Opera, Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie, and Canadian Opera Company, as well as a soloist with the New York Philharmonic, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, and New York Festival of Song, among many others. An en- thusiastic new music collaborator, he has been featured in world premieres with Prototype Fes- tival, Dallas Opera, and Opera Philadelphia in recent seasons, as well as staples of the bass rep- ertoire in the US and abroad. Upcoming sing- ing engagements include debuts with Kansas City Lyric Opera, Opera Parallèle, and Santa Fe Opera; his recent writing commissions include projects for Washington National Opera and Victory Hall Opera. www.mattboehler.com JOHN CLAY III A native of Oak Park, IL, John Clay III recent- ly made his Broadway debut in Choir Boy as Anthony Justin James. He also recently started recording his own mu- sic under the moniker J Clay III and appeared in New York City Center’s Encores! production of Grand Hotel . Instagram @johnclayiii NICHOLAS CUNNINGHAM (vocalist and dancer) An Australian native, Nicholas Cunningham is the head of dance at the Institute for Ameri- can Musical Theatre. He has appeared on Broadway in High Button Shoes , Michael Moore: The Terms of My Surrender , The Phantom of the Opera , and La Cage aux Folles , which he has also toured with nationally, and on London’s West End in La Cage aux Folles , Mat- thew Bourne’s Swan Lake , and Movin’ Out . Cun- ningham has been an associate choreographer for productions of Bernstein’s Mass and Candide as well as the Pet Shop Boys’ “Pandemonium” world tour, La Cage aux Folles , and the film The Boat that Rocked . Additionally, he has appeared in the film Nine and at the Moulin Rouge in Féerie . On opera and concert stages, Cunning- ham has taken bows in Bernstein’s Mass with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Candide with the Philadelphia Orchestra as well as Nico Muh- ly’s Marnie with the Metropolitan Opera and Berlioz’s The Trojans with San Francisco Opera. @nicholaslouiscunningham across social media NICOLE FRAGALA While attending West- minster Choir College, Nicole Fragala made her professional oper- atic debut at Spoleto Festival USA as Suor Maria in Giordano’s Mese Mariano while also working as an active member of the Westminster Choir. After grad- uation, Fragala continued working chorally with Westminster, including in Handel’s Messi- ah with the New York Philharmonic, and as a member of the Amor Artis choir of NYC. Fra- gala went on to pursue a Master of Music at the Mannes School of Music, where she performed the role of Fraulein Kost in Cabaret directed by Kevin Newbury. Having completed the degree, she has recently been seen as Estella in West Side Story in concert with the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin. Regional credits include Pippin (Leading Player), Jekyll and Hyde (Lucy), Nine the Musical (Carla), West Side Story (Anita), and Anything Goes (Hope Harcourt). www.nicolefragala.com ERICA GABRIEL Soprano Erica Gabriel earned her bachelor’s degree in vocal perfor- mance and pedagogy from Oakwood Uni- versity. While there, she appeared in the role of Madame Pompous in Edward Penhorwood’s Too Many Sopranos . Her training also includes a master’s degree from the University of Mich- igan, where she performed the roles of Female Chorus in Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia and the First Lady in Mozart’s The Magic Flute . She performed with the Chicago Symphony Orches- tra at Ravinia for its 2018 production of Bern- stein’s Mass and was the featured artist for the Savannah Philharmonic’s holiday pops concert. Her competition credits include winning the Hartford Memorial Scholarship Competition, the Classical Singer Regional University Com- petition, and the American Traditions Vocal Competition. RAVINIA MAGAZINE | JULY 15 – JULY 21, 2019 96