Anvil Chorus

The Anvil Chorus is the English name for the Coro di zingari (Italian for "Gypsy chorus"), a chorus from act 2, scene 1 of Giuseppe Verdi's 1853 opera Il trovatore. It depicts Spanish Gypsies striking their anvils at dawn – hence its English name – and singing the praises of hard work, good wine, and their Gypsy women. Most recordings will list this as Vedi! Le fosche notturne.

Libretto

Zingari e zingare: —Vedi! Le fosche notturne spoglie —De' cieli sveste l'immensa volta; —Sembra una vedova che alfin si toglie —i bruni panni ond'era involta. —All'opra! all'opra! —Dàgli, martella. —Chi del gitano i giorni abbella? —La zingarella! Uomini: —Versami un tratto; lena e coraggio —Il corpo e l'anima traggon dal bere. Tutti: —Oh guarda, guarda! del sole un raggio —Brilla più vivido nel mio [tuo] bicchiere! —All'opra, all'opra! —Dàgli, martella. —Chi del gitano i giorni abbella? —La zingarella!

Gypsy men and women: —See how the clouds melt away —from the face of the sky when the sun shines, its brightness beaming; —just as a widow, discarding her black robes, —shows all her beauty in brilliance gleaming. —So, to work now! —Lift up your hammers! —Who turns the Gypsy's day from gloom to brightest sunshine? —His lovely Gypsy maid! Men: —Fill up the goblets! New strength and courage —flow from lusty wine to soul and body. All: —See how the rays of the sun play and sparkle —and give to our wine gay new splendor. —So, to work now! —Lift up your hammers! —Who turns the Gypsy's day from gloom to brightest sunshine? —His lovely Gypsy maid!

In popular culture

• Only a quarter-century after the premiere of Il trovatore, W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan musically spoofed the Anvil Chorus in their 1879 operetta The Pirates of Penzance.
• In American sporting events of the early twentieth century, the Anvil Chorus was commonly sung by the spectators or played by a band when a player, especially an opponent, committed an error, or to "rub it in" to the losing side.
• In the 1929 Marx Brothers film The Cocoanuts, Harpo and Chico play the Anvil Chorus on a hotel's cash register. In their next film, Animal Crackers, in 1930, Chico plays a segment on the piano while Harpo clangs two horseshoes together. Later, in 1935's A Night at the Opera, the chorus is sung as part of a performance of Il trovatore as the police and the opera's general manager chase after Harpo and Chico backstage and onstage.
• Glenn Miller and his orchestra recorded a big band jazz version of this chorus.
• The chorus is often parodied in the Tiny Toons cartoons.
• Rapper Juelz Santana sampled parts of the piece in his song Santana's Town