This chorus comes from an opera by Verdi where the lead tenor drops an anvil on his foot and instead of shouting, sings.
No, don’t be silly.
Il Trovatore (The Troubador) was composed in 1853 and has witchcraft, murder and vengeance in the plot – there’s a lot of avenging going on. The First Act is called ‘The Duel’, and the Fourth Act ‘The Punishment’.
This particular chorus opens Act 2 (‘The Gypsy Woman’), where the gypsies strike their anvils at dawn, and sing about work, wine and women.
The chorus was parodied by Gilbert and Sullivan in 1879 as ‘With cat like tread’ in Pirates of Penzance, where the Pirates, attempting to be quiet in order to burgle a house, are not.