Houston
Area
Blacksmith's
Association
7418 Branch Point
Houston, TX 77095-2649
2005
Board of Directors
Richard Boswell
27923 FM 2978
Magnolia, TX
77354
281-356-5205
James Porter
281-337-5384
and Secretary
Dave Koenig
281-855-2869
Cathy Porter
1925 Anchor Way Dickinson TX 77539
281-337-5384
Frank Walters
281-491-7328
Tim Bailey
713-398-4086
Mark Finstad
713-528-0452
and Board Member
Les Cook
281-481-2457
On Line
Resources
ABANA
ABANA Demonstrator Guideline
North Texas
Blacksmiths Association
Balcones Forge
Louisiana Metalsmiths
Association
Maps
HABA Anvils
at the Houston Grand Opera
Il Trovatore
The Houston Grand Opera invited HABA to help in their production of Verdi's Il Trovatore January 21 - February 6 by providing anvils and "demonstrators" to explain about anvils and blacksmithing to their audiences prior to the performances. This opera features the famous "Anvil Chorus" which you can see and hear at their web site. However, the famous Anvil Chorus was replaced with a Sword Banging Chorus, so our anvils were the only ones the attendees could experience.
This is about "A gypsy's revenge and two brothers' passion for one woman." The singing and music were wonderful. Although this was not the kind of Opry some of us are used to with guitars, banjos and fiddles there was a minstrel with a lute, and lots of sword-like action. The vocals were most impressive and this is how angels may sound when they talk to each other.
From the Opera website we learn that "The opera is set in 15th century Spain , a period of civil war. The present ruler, the Prince of Aragon, is battling the forces of the Prince of Urgel to hold onto the throne. Count di Luna, a leading supporter of the Prince of Aragon, is in love with Leonora, lady-in-waiting to the Princess of Aragon. The Composer Giuseppe Verdi (1813–1901) is commonly considered one of the world’s three greatest opera composers, along with Mozart and Wagner. Born in Roncole, Italy, Verdi was rejected by the Milan Conservatory as insufficiently talented, so he studied privately. "
Please visit their page at Houston Grand Opera for more information.
Other web sites you may be interested to visit are:
- Anvil Chorus Lyrics
- A Grand Anvil Chorus
- Listening to "Il Trovatore" - The Anvil Chorus
- Glenn Miller's Anvil Chorus
- A Night at the Opera
- A Night at the Opera 1935
- Scenes from A Night at the Opera
- Anvils in America
- Anvil Types
- Anvil Info
- The Blacksmith Anvil
- History and Development of the Anvil
- A Gallery of Early Blacksmithing Art
- How Anvils are Made
HABA anvils were loaned by Dave Koenig, Frank Walters, Les Cook, and Richard Boswell. Demonstrators worked in pairs and were on site prior to the Opera performance and during the Intermission. The attendees were facinated to learn how anvils were connected to this opera, and how they are being used today. HABA was present for 6 performances and invited a lot of people to attend our meetings and find more information at our website. The volunteers were :
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Of course, we had to leave our fire at home. So rather than work with hot steel, we worked with cold aluminum. Here are some photos....
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Notes about this Website This website is Under Development and will continue to evolve for HABA Members.
The use any of the material from this site is at your own risk. All persons associated with this material disclaim any responsibility or liability for damages or injuries resulting from the use or application of this information. They assume no responsibility or liability for the accuracy, fitness, proper design, safety or safe use of any information presented here.
Please send all feedback/correction/omission/suggestions to your webmaster, Richard Boswell .
Enjoy!
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Last updates were on Feb 06, 2005
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