Editing Charles Bannister (section)

==In travesty==
He was said to have 'one of the most extensive [[falsetto]]s ever heard'.<ref>H. van Thal, ''Solo Recital, The Reminiscences of Michael Kelly'' (abridged), with Biographical Index (Folio Society, London 1972), p. 330.</ref> Garrick took [[Felice Giardini]] to hear Bannister's imitations of [[Giusto Fernando Tenducci|Tenducci]] and Champneys, and the composer observed that the mimicry was perfect, but the fault was that the mimic was better than the performers themselves.<ref>Adolphus 1839, Vol. 1, p. 6.</ref> [[Michael Kelly (tenor)|Michael Kelly]] refers to his appearance as Polly in a travesty of ''[[The Beggar's Opera]]'' at the Little Theatre in the Haymarket in 1781, in which he 'gave her tender airs with all the power of his deep and sonorous bass voice.' He brought it off not by mimicking feminine intonation or mincing gait, antics or 'superadded drolleries', but by the ridiculous incongruity of his deep voice and muscular frame, by an occasional display of ankle, and by the perfect judgement with which he sang Polly's songs.<ref>A detailed account of this production is in John Bannister's ''Memoirs'', see Adolphus 1839, Vol. 1 p. 69-74. It was given 18 times in one short season at the Haymarket and also on occasion at Covent Garden.</ref> This was heard with great disgust by the visiting Italian male soprano [[Ferdinando Mazzanti]], who did not realize it was a burlesque production.<ref>Michael Kelly (with Theodore Hooke), ''Memoirs'' (1826), abridged as ''Solo Recital: The Reminiscences of Michael Kelly'' ed. H. van Thal (Folio Society, London 1972), p. 230.</ref>