‘Ernani ‘is an operatic dramma lirico in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave, based on the 1830 play Hernani by Victor Hugo. Ernani was first performed in 1844 and it became Verdi's most popular opera until it was superseded by ‘Il Trovatore’ after 1853.
At the very beginning of the opera, the bandits demand the reason for Ernani's gloom: ‘Evviva! Beviam!’ This chorus became very popular as the ‘Choir of Bandits’ and is now transcribed for male choir and Symphonic Band by Italian arranger Marco Tamanini.