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Bell OH-58 Kiowa

The Bell OH-58 Kiowa is a family of single-engine single-rotor military helicopters used for observation, utility, and direct fire support. It was produced by the American manufacturer Bell Helicopter and is closely related to the Model 206A JetRanger civilian helicopter.

The OH-58 was originally developed during the early 1960s as the D-250 for the Light Observation Helicopter (LOH). While the rival Hughes OH-6 Cayuse was picked over Bell's submission in May 1965, the company refined its design to create the Model 206A, a variant of which it successfully submitted to the reopened LOH competition two years later. The initial model, designated by the service as the OH-58A, was introduced in May 1969. Successive models would follow, often with uprated engines, enhanced protection systems, and other improvements, culminating in the OH-58F. Additional improvements, such as the OH-58X, were proposed but ultimately not pursued.

During the 1970s, the US Army became interested in pursuing an advanced scout helicopter, for which the OH-58 would be further developed, evaluated, and ultimately procured as the OH-58D Kiowa Warrior. The OH-58D is equipped to perform armed reconnaissance missions and to provide fire support to friendly ground forces; it is equipped with a distinctive Mast Mounted Sight (MMS) containing various sensors for target acquisition and laser designation. Another visible feature present on most OH-58s are knife-like extensions above and below the cockpit that form part of the passive wire strike protection system. The early-build OH-58s were equipped with a two-bladed main rotor, while the OH-58D and newer variants have a four-bladed rotor.

The OH-58 was primarily produced for the United States Army. Only two months after the type's entry to service, it was first deployed into the Vietnam War. The US Army would make extensive use of various OH-58 models across numerous war zones over the decades, seeing active combat during the Gulf War, the Invasion of Panama, and the War in Afghanistan among others. During 2017, the US Army opted to withdraw its remaining OH-58s, making use of alternative rotorcraft, such as the Boeing AH-64 Apache and Eurocopter UH-72 Lakota, as well as increasing use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), to fill the role. Furthermore, the OH-58 has been exported to Austria, Canada, Croatia, the Dominican Republic, Taiwan, Saudi Arabia, and Greece. It has also been produced under license in Australia.

Light Observation Helicopter (LOH)
On 14 October 1960, the United States Navy approached 25 helicopter manufacturers to request on behalf of the Army the submission of proposals for a Light Observation Helicopter (LOH). Bell Helicopter was one of the manufacturers approached, and chose to enter the competition along with 12 other manufacturers, including Hiller Aircraft and Hughes Tool Co., Aircraft Division. Bell's design was internally referred to as the D-250, and would be officially designated as the YHO-4. On 19 May 1961, Bell and Hiller were announced as winners of the design competition.

Bell developed the D-250 design into the Model 206, while the HO-4 designation was changed to YOH-4A in 1962, and produced five prototype aircraft for the Army's test and evaluation phase. On 8 December 1962, the first prototype performed its maiden flight. The YOH-4A was also called the Ugly Duckling in comparison to other contending aircraft. After a fly off of the Bell, Hughes and Fairchild-Hiller prototypes, the Hughes OH-6 Cayuse was selected in May 1965.

When the YOH-4A was rejected by the Army, Bell went about solving the problem of marketing the aircraft. In addition to the image problem, the helicopter lacked cargo space and only provided cramped quarters for the planned three passengers in the back. The solution was a fuselage redesigned to be more sleek and aesthetic, adding 16 ft3 of cargo space in the process. The redesigned aircraft was designated as the Model 206A, and Bell President Edwin J. Ducayet named it the JetRanger denoting an evolution from the popular Model 47J Ranger.

In 1967, the Army reopened the LOH competition for bids because Hughes Tool Co. Aircraft Division could not meet the contractual production demands. Bell resubmitted for the program using the Bell 206A. Fairchild-Hiller failed to resubmit their bid with the YOH-5A, which they had successfully marketed as the FH-1100. In the end, Bell underbid Hughes to win the contract and the Bell 206A was designated as the OH-58A. Following the U.S. Army's naming convention for helicopters, the OH-58A was named Kiowa in honor of the Native American tribe.

Advanced Scout Helicopter

In the 1970s, the U.S. Army began evaluating the need to improve the capabilities of their scout aircraft. Anticipating the AH-64A's replacement of the venerable AH-1, the Army began shopping the idea of an Aerial Scout Program to stimulate the development of advanced technological capabilities for night vision and precision navigation equipment. The stated goals of the program included prototypes that would: "...possess an extended target acquisition range capability by means of a long-range stabilized optical subsystem for the observer, improved position location through use of a computerized navigation system, improved survivability by reducing aural, visual, radar, and infrared signatures, and an improved flight performance capability derived from a larger engine to provide compatibility with attack helicopters."

During March 1974, the Army created a special task force at Fort Knox to develop the system requirements; by the following year, the task force had devised the requirements for an Advanced Scout Helicopter (ASH) program. The requirements were formulated around an rotorcraft capable of performing in day, night, and adverse weather, and compatible with all advanced weapons systems planned for development and fielding into the 1980s. The program was approved by the System Acquisition Review Council and the Army prepared for competitive development to begin the next year. However, as the Army tried to get the program off the ground, Congress declined to provide funding in the fiscal year 1977 budget and the ASH Project Manager's Office (PM-ASH) was closed on 30 September 1976.

While no development occurred for some years, the program survived as a requirement without funding. On 30 November 1979, the decision was made to defer development of an advanced scout helicopter in favor of modifying existing airframes in inventory as a near term scout helicopter (NTSH) option. The development of a mast-mounted sight would be the primary focus to improve the ability to perform reconnaissance, surveillance, and target acquisition missions while remaining hidden behind trees and terrain. Both the UH-1 and the OH-58 were evaluated as NTSH candidates, but the UH-1 was dropped from consideration due to its larger size and ease of detection. The OH-58, on the other hand demonstrated a dramatic reduction in detectability with a Mast-Mounted Sight (MMS).

On 10 July 1980, the Army decided that the NTSH would be a competitive modification program based on developments in the commercial helicopter sector, particularly Hughes Helicopters' Hughes 500D, which had made major improvements over the OH-6.

Army Helicopter Improvement Program (AHIP)
The Army's decision to acquire the NTSH resulted in the "Army Helicopter Improvement Program (AHIP)". Both Bell Helicopter and Hughes Helicopters redesigned their scout aircraft to compete for the contract. Bell offered a more robust version of the OH-58 in their Model 406, and Hughes offered an upgraded version of the OH-6. On 21 September 1981, Bell Helicopter Textron was awarded a development contract. On 6 October 1983, the first prototype performed its maiden flight, and the aircraft entered service two years later as the OH-58D.

Initially intended for attack, cavalry, and artillery roles, the Army only approved a low initial production level and confined the OH-58D's role to field artillery observation. The Army also directed that a follow-on test be conducted to further evaluate it due to perceived deficiencies. On 1 April 1986, the Army formed a task force at Fort Rucker, Alabama, to remedy deficiencies in the AHIP. During 1988, the Army had planned to discontinue the OH-58D and focus on the LHX; however, Congress approved $138 million to expand the program, calling for the AHIP to operate with the Apache as a hunter/killer team; the AHIP would locate targets and the Apache would destroy them in a throwback to the traditional OH-58/AH-1 relationship.

The Secretary of the Army directed instead that the aircraft's armament systems be upgraded, based on experience with Task Force 118's performance operating armed OH-58Ds in the Persian Gulf in support of Operation Prime Chance, and that the type be used primarily for scouting and armed reconnaissance. The armed aircraft would be known as the OH-58D Kiowa Warrior, denoting its new armed configuration. Beginning with the 202nd aircraft (s/n 89-0112) in May 1991, all remaining OH-58Ds were produced in the Kiowa Warrior configuration. During January 1992, Bell received its first retrofit contract to convert all remaining OH-58Ds to the Kiowa Warrior configuration.

Production

Overall 2,325 OH-58 were produced, with an additional 56 Bell 206B-1 also built. Production of new airframes for the A and B models ended in 1977, and the D model in 2000. Conversions of early models to the D standard continued afterward.

Design

The Bell OH-58 Kiowa is a family of single-engine single-rotor military helicopters principally used for observation, utility, and direct fire support. The primary role of the original OH-58A was to identify targets for other platforms, such as the Bell AH-1 Cobra attack helicopter and ground artillery; it lacked any armaments and weighed 1,451 kg (3,200 lb) when fully loaded, being able to carry a small amount of cargo or up to two passengers. While initial examples were reliant on the crew to conduct observations, later models were furnished with sophisticated sensors to precisely determine a target's location. Payload capacity was also increased considerably on later-build rotorcraft, the OH-58D Kiowa was designed to carry a maximum load of 2,495 kg, 72% more capacity than the original version.

Early Kiowas were fitted with a flexible twin-bladed main rotor; starting with the OH-58D, a four-bladed rigid main rotor was used. This was entirely composed of composite materials, the OH-58D was the first US Army rotorcraft to incorporate an all-composite main rotor hub. Later models were outfitted as light gunships, being equipped with various armaments, such as Stinger air-to-air missiles, a .50-caliber machine gun, podded 70mm Hydra rockets and AGM-114 Hellfire air to ground missiles. Other areas of improvement were the avionics and the cockpit; new navigation and communication systems were installed along with new and larger flight instrumentation, while all light sources were redesigned for compatibility with Night Vision Goggles (NVG). Later versions were outfitted with a glass cockpit, which retained conventional instrumentation as a fallback measure.

The OH-58D introduced perhaps the most distinctive feature of the Kiowa family — the Mast Mounted Sight (MMS), which resembles a beach ball perched above the rotor system. The MMS by Ball Aerospace & Technologies has a gyro-stabilized platform containing a television system (TVS), a thermal imaging system (TIS), and a laser range finder/designator (LRF/D). These features gave the OH-58D the additional mission capability of target acquisition and laser designation in day or night, limited-visibility and adverse weather. In combination with the 1553 databus, the OH-58D being first US Army helicopter to be fielded with such equipment, target data from the sensors could be directly passed to precision-guided weapons.

The MMS was developed by the McDonnell Douglas Corp. in Huntington Beach, CA. Production took place primarily at facilities in Monrovia, CA. As a result of a merger with Boeing, and a later sale of the business unit, the program is currently owned and managed by DRS Technologies, with engineering support based in Cypress, CA, and production support taking place in Melbourne, FL. On the OH-58F, the MMS was removed, its functions having been replaced by the AAS-53 Common Sensor Payload, which is mounted on the chin.

One distinctive feature of operational OH-58s are the knife-like extensions above and below the cockpit which are part of the passive wire strike protection system; it protects 90% of the frontal area of the helicopter from wire strikes that can be encountered at low altitudes by directing wires to the upper or lower blades before they can entangle the rotor blade or landing skids. The OH-58 was the first helicopter to test this system, after which the system was adopted by the US Army for the OH-58 and most of their other helicopters. Various other defensive and survivability measures were incorporated, such as ballistic floor armor, a missile warning system, crashworthy seats, and infrared suppression systems for the engine exhaust.

Operational history
In May 1969, the first OH-58A Kiowa was officially received at a ceremony held at Bell Helicopter's Fort Worth plant, officiated by Major General John Norton, commanding general of the Army Aviation Materiel Command (AMCOM). Two months later, on 17 August 1969, production OH-58A helicopters arrived in South Vietnam for the first time; their deployment was accompanied by a New Equipment Training Team (NETT) comprising personnel from both the US Army and Bell Helicopters. Although the Kiowa production contract had replaced the LOH contract with Hughes, the OH-58A did not automatically replace the OH-6A in operations; subsequently, the Kiowa and the Cayuse would continue operating in the same theater until the end of the conflict.

Vietnam War

On 27 March 1970, an OH-58A Kiowa (s/n 68-16785) was shot down over South Vietnam, one of the first OH-58A losses of the war. The pilot, Warrant Officer Ralph Quick Jr., was flying Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Benoski Jr. as an artillery spotter. After completing a battle damage assessment for a previous fire mission, the aircraft was damaged by .51 inch (13 mm) machine gun fire and crashed, killing both crew members. Approximately 45 OH-58A helicopters were destroyed during the Vietnam War due to combat losses and accidents. One of the last combat losses in the theatre was of an OH-58A (s/n 68-16888) from A Troop, 3-17th Cavalry, flown by First Lieutenant Thomas Knuckey. On 27 May 1971, Lieutenant Knuckey was also flying a battle damage assessment mission when his aircraft came under machine gun fire and exploded. Knuckey and his observer, Sergeant Philip Taylor, both died in the explosion.

Operation Prime Chance
During early 1988, it was decided that armed OH-58D (AHIP) helicopters from the 118th Aviation Task Force would be phased in to replace the SEABAT (AH-6/MH-6) teams of Task Force 160th to carry out Operation Prime Chance, the escort of oil tankers during the Iran–Iraq War. On 24 February 1988, two AHIP helicopters reported to the Mobile Sea Base Wimbrown VII, and the helicopter team ("SEABAT" team after their callsign) stationed on the barge returned to the United States. For the next few months, the AHIP helicopters on the Wimbrown VII shared patrol duties with the SEABAT team on the Hercules. Coordination proved difficult, despite frequent requests from TF-160, the SEABAT team on the Hercules was not replaced by an AHIP detachment until June 1988. The OH-58D helicopter crews involved in the operation received deck landing and underwater survival training from the Navy.

In November 1988, the number of OH-58D helicopters that supported Task Force 118 was reduced. However, the rotorcraft continued to operate from the Navy's Mobile Sea Base Hercules, the frigate Underwood, and the destroyer Conolly. OH-58D operations primarily entailed reconnaissance flights at night, and depending on maintenance requirements and ship scheduling, Army helicopters usually rotated from the mobile sea base and other combatant ships to a land base every seven to fourteen days. On 18 September 1989, an OH-58D crashed during night gunnery practice and sank, but with no loss of personnel. When the Mobile Sea Base Hercules was deactivated in September 1989, all but five OH-58D helicopters redeployed to the continental United States.

Gulf War

During Operation Desert Storm, 115 deployed OH-58D helicopters participated in a wide variety of critical combat missions and were vital to the success of the ground forces mission. During Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm, the Kiowas collectively flew nearly 9,000 hours with a 92 percent fully mission capable rate. The Kiowa Warrior had the lowest ratio of maintenance hours to flight hours of any combat helicopter in the war.

RAID
In 1989, Congress mandated that the Army National Guard would take part in the country's War on Drugs, enabling them to aid federal, state and local law enforcement agencies with "special congressional entitlements". In response, the Army National Guard Bureau created the Reconnaissance and Aerial Interdiction Detachments (RAID) in 1992, consisting of aviation units in 31 states with 76 specially modified OH-58A helicopters to assume the reconnaissance/interdiction role in the fight against illegal drugs. During 1994, 24 states conducted more than 1,200 aerial counterdrug reconnaissance and interdiction missions, conducting many of these missions at night. Eventually, the program was expanded to cover 32 states and consisting of 116 aircraft, including dedicated training aircraft at the Western Army Aviation Training Site (WAATS) in Marana, Arizona.

The RAID program's mission has now been expanded to include the war against terrorism and supporting U.S. Border Patrol activities in support of homeland defense. The National Guard RAID units' Area of Operation (AO) is the only one in the Department of Defense that is wholly contained within the borders of the United States.

Operation Just Cause and action in the 1990s
During Operation Just Cause in 1989, a team consisting of an OH-58 and an AH-1 were part of the Aviation Task Force during the securing of Fort Amador in Panama. The OH-58 was fired upon by Panama Defense Force soldiers and crashed 100 yd away, in the Bay of Panama. The pilot was rescued, but the co-pilot was killed in action.

On 17 December 1994, Army Chief Warrant Officers (CWO) David Hilemon and Bobby Hall left Camp Page, South Korea on a routine training mission along the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). Their flight was intended to be to a point known as Checkpoint 84, south of the DMZ "no-fly zone", but the OH-58C Kiowa strayed nearly 4 mi into the Kangwon Province, inside North Korean airspace, due to errors in navigating the snow-covered, rugged terrain. The helicopter was shot down by North Korean troops and CWO Hilemon was killed. CWO Hall was held captive and the North Korean government insisted that the crew had been spying. Five days of negotiations resulted in the North Koreans turning over Hilemon's body to U.S. authorities. The negotiations failed to secure Hall's immediate release. After 13 days in captivity, Hall was freed on 30 December, uninjured.

Afghanistan and Iraq

The U.S. Army employed the OH-58D during Operation Iraqi Freedom in Iraq and Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. Between a combination of combat and accidents, over 35 airframes have been lost, resulting in the deaths of 35 pilots. Their presence was also anecdotally credited with saving lives, having been used to rescue wounded despite their small size. In Iraq, OH-58Ds reportedly flew 72 hours per month, while in Afghanistan, the type flew 80 hours per month. During April 2013, Bell stated that the OH-58 collectively accumulated 820,000 combat hours, and had achieved a 90% mission capable rate.

Retirement
The U.S. Army's first attempt to replace the OH-58 was the RAH-66 Comanche of the Light Helicopter Experimental program, which was canceled in 2004. Airframe age and losses led to the Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter program and the Bell ARH-70, which was canceled in 2008 due to cost overruns. The third replacement effort was the Armed Aerial Scout program. Due to uncertainty in the AAS program and fiscal restraints, the OH-58F's planned retirement was extended from 2025 to 2036. The Kiowa's scout role was supplemented by tactical unmanned aerial vehicles, the two platforms often acting in conjunction to provide reconnaissance to expose crews to less risk. The OH-58F had the ability to control UAVs directly to safely perform scout missions. In 2011, the Kiowa was scheduled to be replaced by the light version of the Future Vertical Lift aircraft in the 2030s.

In December 2013, the U.S. Army had 338 Kiowas in its active-duty force and 30 in the Army National Guard. The Army considered retiring the Kiowa as part of a wider restructuring to cut costs and reduce the variety of helicopters operated. The Analysis of Alternatives for the AAS program found that operating the Kiowa alongside RQ-7 Shadow UAVs was the most affordable and capable solution, while the AH-64E Apache Guardian was the most capable immediate solution. One proposal was to transfer all Army National Guard and Army Reserve AH-64s to the active Army for use as scouts to divest the OH-58. The Apache costs 50 percent more than the Kiowa to operate and maintain; studies note that had it been used in place of the Kiowa in Iraq and Afghanistan, total operating costs would have risen by $4 billion, but also saved $1 billion per year in operating and sustainment costs. UH-60 Black Hawks would transfer from the active Army to reserve and Guard units. The aim was to retire older helicopters and retain those with the best capabilities to save money. Retiring the Kiowa would fund Apache upgrades.

The Army placed 26 out of 335 OH-58Ds in non-flyable storage during 2014. In anticipation of divestment, the Army looked to see if other military branches, government agencies, and foreign customers had interest in buying the type. The Kiowas were considered to be well priced for foreign countries with limited resources; Bell had not yet agreed to support them if sold overseas. Media expected OH-58s to go to foreign militaries rather than civil operators due to high operating cost. By 2015, the Army had divested 33 OH-58Ds. By January 2016, the Army had divested all but two OH-58D squadrons. In June 2016, members of 1st Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment, 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade, arrived in South Korea as part of the Kiowa's last deployment in U.S. Army service; during the following year, the unit reequipped with AH-64s. In January 2017, the last Kiowa Warrior performed their last live fire maneuver before retirement.

Ex-U.S. Army OH-58Ds were made available through Excess Defense Article and foreign military sales (FMS) programs. In November 2014, Croatia sent a letter of intent for the acquisition of 16 OH-58Ds. In 2016, Croatia and Tunisia became the first nations to request the helicopters, ordering 16 and 24, respectively. Croatia received the first batch of 5 OH-58Ds at the Zadar-Zemunik air base on 30 June 2016. In early 2018, Greece was granted 70 OH-58Ds via an FMS arrangement, the type has been initially stationed at Hellenic Army Aviation air base at Stefanovikio.

In March 2020, the U.S. Army selected the Bell 360 Invictus and Sikorsky Raider X as part of the Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) program to fill the capability gap left by the retirement of the OH-58. On 9 July 2020, the US Army retired its last OH-58Cs from active service at Fort Polk. In February 2024, FARA was cancelled; by this point, there were three abandoned attempts to replace the OH-58 at a cost in excess of $9 billion. The armed scout role has been filled by the AH-64 and the unarmed RQ-7 Shadow UAV; this combination reportedly accomplished 80% of the scouting mission, while also providing greater firepower, durability, and speed.

OH-58A

The OH-58A Kiowa is a four-place observation helicopter. It has two-place pilot seating, although the controls in the left seat are designed to be removed to carry a passenger up front. During its Vietnam development, it was fitted with the M134 Minigun, a 7.62 mm electrically operated machine gun.

The Australian Army leased eight OH-58As in 1971 in Vietnam for eight months. The Australian Government procured the OH-58A for the Australian Army and Royal Australian Navy as the CAC CA-32. Licensed produced in Australia by Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation, the CA-32 was the equivalent of the 206B-1 (uprated engine and longer rotor blades). The first twelve of 56 were built in the U.S. then partially disassembled and shipped to Australia, where they were reassembled. Helicopters in the naval fleet were retired in 2000.

A total of 74 OH-58As were delivered to the Canadian Armed Forces as COH-58A and later redesignated CH-136 Kiowa. As many as 12 surplus Kiowas were sold to the Dominican Republic Air Force, and others sold privately in Australia.

In 1978, OH-58As began to be converted to the same engine and dynamic components as the OH-58C. In 1992, 76 OH-58A were modified with another engine upgrade, a thermal imaging system, a communications package for law enforcement, enhanced navigational equipment and high skid gear as part of the Army National Guard's (ARNG) Counter-Drug RAID program. The U.S. Army retired its last OH-58A in November 2017.

OH-58B
The OH-58B was an export version for the Austrian Air Force. Austria plans to replace the OH-58B by the end of 2030.

OH-58C

Equipped with a more robust engine, the OH-58C was supposed to solve issues regarding the Kiowa's power. In addition to the improved engine, it had unique IR suppression systems mounted on its exhaust. Early OH-58Cs had flat-panel windscreens as an attempt to reduce glint from the sun, which could reveal its location to enemies. The windscreens had a negative effect of limiting the crew's forward view, a previous strength of the original design.

The aircraft was also equipped with a larger instrument panel, roughly one–third bigger than the OH-58A panel, which held larger flight instruments. The panel was also equipped with Night Vision Goggle (NVG) compatible cockpit lighting. The OH-58C were also the first U.S. Army scout helicopter to be equipped with the AN/APR-39 radar detector, which alerted the crew to active anti-aircraft radar systems nearby. Some OH-58Cs were armed with two AIM-92 Stingers and are sometimes referred to as OH-58C/S, the "S" referring to the Stinger addition. Called Air-To-Air Stinger (ATAS), the weapon system was intended to provide an air defense capability.

The OH-58C was the final Kiowa variant in service with the U.S. Army, with it being used as a training aircraft. On 9 July 2020, the US Army retired the last OH-58Cs from service.

OH-58D

The OH-58D (Bell Model 406) was the result of the Army Helicopter Improvement Program (AHIP). An upgraded transmission and engine gave extra power, needed for nap-of-the-earth flight profiles, and a four-bladed main rotor made it quieter than the two-bladed OH-58C. The OH-58D introduced the distinctive Mast-Mounted Sight (MMS) above the main rotor, and a mixed glass cockpit with traditional instruments as "standby" for emergencies.

The Bell 406CS "Combat Scout" was based on the OH-58D (sometimes referred to as the MH-58D). Fifteen aircraft were sold to Saudi Arabia. A roof-mounted Saab HeliTOW sight system was opted for in place of the MMS. The 406CS also had detachable weapon hardpoints on each side.

The AH-58D was an OH-58D version operated by Task Force 118 (4th Squadron, 17th Cavalry) and modified with armament in support of Operation Prime Chance. The weapons and fire control systems would become the basis for the Kiowa Warrior. AH-58D is not an official DOD aircraft designation, but is used by the Army in reference to these aircraft.

The Kiowa Warrior, sometimes referred to by its acronym KW, is the armed version of the OH-58D. A key difference between the Kiowa Warrior and original AHIP aircraft is a universal weapons pylon found mounted on both sides of the fuselage, capable of carrying combinations of AGM-114 Hellfire missiles, air-to-air Stinger (ATAS) missiles, 7-shot 2.75 in Hydra-70 rocket pods, and an M296 0.50 in (12.7 mm) caliber machine gun. The performance standard of aerial gunnery from an OH-58D is to achieve at least one hit out of 70 shots fired at a wheeled vehicle 800 to 1200 m away. The Kiowa Warrior also includes improvements in available power, navigation, communication, survivability, and deployability.

OH-58E
The OH-58E was one of 13 design candidates in the Advanced Scout Helicopter of 1980. The study's conclusion was to launch the Army Helicopter Improvement Program (AHIP) in 1981 centered on the OH-58D instead.

OH-58F
The OH-58F is an OH-58D upgrade. The Cockpit and Sensor Upgrade Program (CASUP) adds a nose-mounted targeting and surveillance system alongside the MMS. The AAS-53 Common Sensor Payload has an infrared camera, color Electro-Optical camera, and image intensifier; via weight and drag reductions, flight performance increased by 1–2%. Cockpit upgrades include the Control and Display Subsystem version 5, more storage and processing power, three color multi-function displays, and dual-independent advanced moving maps. It has Level 2 Manned-Unmanned (L2MUM) teaming, the Force Battle Command Brigade and Below (FBCB2) display screen, and can be updated to Blue Force Tracker 2. Survivability enhancements include ballistic floor armor and the Common Missile Warning System. It has greater situational awareness, digital inter-cockpit communications, HELLFIRE future upgrades, redesigned wiring harness, Health and Usage Monitoring (HUMS), and enhanced weapons functionality via 1760 digital interface. The OH-58F is powered by a Rolls-Royce 250-C30R3 engine rated at 650 shp; it has a dual-channel, full-authority digital engine-controller that operates at required power levels in all environments. Rolls-Royce proposed engine tweaks to raise output by 12%.

In October 2012, the first OH-58F was finished. Unlike most military projects, the Army designed and built the new variant itself, which lowered development costs. It weighed 3590 lb, 53 lb below the target weight and about 200 lb lighter than the OH-58D. The weight savings are attributed to more efficient wiring and a lighter sensor. The first production aircraft began manufacturing in January 2013 and was handed over to the Army by year end. Low rate production was to start in March 2015, with the first operational squadron being fully equipped by 2016. The Army was to buy 368 OH-58Fs, with older OH-58 variants to be remanufactured. Due to battle damage and combat attrition, total OH-58F numbers would be about 321 aircraft. The OH-58F's first flight occurred on 26 April 2013.

The Army chose to retire the Kiowa and end the CASUP upgrades. CASUP and SLEP upgrades were estimated to cost $3 billion and $7 billion respectively. The OH-58D could do 20 percent of armed aerial scout mission requirements, the OH-58F upgrade raised that to 50 percent. Replacing the Kiowa with Apaches and UAVs in scout roles met 80 percent of requirements. In early 2014, Bell received a stop-work order for the Kiowa CASUP program.

OH-58F Block II

On 14 April 2011, Bell performed the successful first flight of the OH-58F Block II variant. It was Bell's entry in the Armed Aerial Scout (AAS) program. It built on the improvements of the F-model, adding features such as the Honeywell HTS900 turboshaft engine, the transmission and main rotors of the Bell 407, and the tail and tail rotor of the Bell 427. Bell started flight demonstrations in October 2012. Bell hoped for the Army to go with their service life extension models instead of the AAS program. The OH-58F is an "obsolescence upgrade", while the Block II was seen as the performance upgrade. This gave the Army financial flexibility via the option of upgrading the Kiowa to the OH-58F and later continuing to the Block II when there were sufficient funds. In late 2012, the Army recommended that the AAS program proceed. The Army ended the AAS program in late 2013. In light of sequestration budget cuts in 2013, it was decided that the $16 billion cost to buy new armed scout helicopters was too great.

Others
The OH-58X was a modification of the fourth development OH-58D (s/n 69-16322) with partial stealth features and a chin-mounted McDonnell Douglas Electronics Systems turret as a night piloting system; including a Kodak FLIR system with a 30-degree field of view. Avionics systems were consolidated and moved to the nose, making room for a passenger seat in the rear. No aircraft were produced.

Current operators

 * Austrian Air Force
 * Croatian Air Force
 * Dominican Air Force
 * Hellenic Army
 * Iraqi Army
 * Royal Saudi Land Forces
 * Hellenic Army
 * Iraqi Army
 * Royal Saudi Land Forces
 * Iraqi Army
 * Royal Saudi Land Forces
 * Royal Saudi Land Forces
 * Republic of China Army
 * Tunisian Air Force
 * Turkish Army
 * Tunisian Air Force
 * Turkish Army
 * Turkish Army

Former operators

 * Australian Army
 * Canadian Armed Forces
 * Spanish Army
 * Spanish Air and Space Force
 * Spanish Army
 * Spanish Air and Space Force
 * Spanish Air and Space Force
 * United States Army
 * United States Army

Aircraft on display

 * 68-16940 – International Airport in Palm Springs, California. Transformed into a sculpture.
 * 69-16112 – OH-58A – Pima Air and Space Museum in Tucson, Arizona
 * 69-16123 – Kansas Museum of Military History in Augusta, Kansas
 * 69-16153 – MAPS Air Museum in North Canton, Ohio
 * 69-16338 – Point Alpha Museum in Hesse, Germany
 * 71-20475 – Veterans Memorial Museum, Huntsville, Alabama, United States
 * 71-20869 – National Air Force Museum of Canada, Trenton, Ontario, Canada CH-136
 * 71-20920 – Polish Aviation Museum, Kraków, Poland – CH-136
 * 72-21256 – The Aviation Museum of Kentucky in Lexington, Kentucky
 * 93-0976 – OH-58D – Pima Air and Space Museum in Tucson, Arizona
 * 95-0015 – OH-58D – (not on public display as of 2024) Pima Air and Space Museum in Tucson, Arizona

title: Bell OH-58 Kiowa


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Talk:Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg

Controversy Section
This section ends as follows: "The association of Die Meistersinger with Nazism led to one of the most controversial stage productions of the work. The first Bayreuth production of Die Meistersinger following World War II occurred in 1956, when Wieland Wagner, the composer's grandson, attempted to distance the work from German nationalism by presenting it in almost abstract terms, by removing any reference to Nuremberg from the scenery. The production was dubbed Die Meistersinger ohne Nürnberg (The Mastersingers without Nuremberg).[23]

The composer's great-granddaughter Katharina Wagner staged another highly controversial production at Bayreuth in 2007.[24] The Mastersingers were presented as the stuffy teachers at a school attended by the apprentices. Sachs was shown as an anarchist, while the prize contest was presented in the style of American Idol.[25] This production was streamed on the Internet in a webcast on 27 July 2008.[26]"

I don't think Katharina Wagner's production has the same kind of historical import as Wieland Wagner's post-War production. It is controversial in the same manner as many contemporary productions of operas are. I am removing this paragraph for the time being. It does not seem related to the main controversies regarding either Wagner's musical style or his nationalism, and it really does not fit in this section. It might deserve a place somewhere in the article, for instance in a notable productions section (is it particularly notable among productions?) but I will not alter the over all structure myself. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 89.100.74.53 (talk) 00:33, 14 December 2014 (UTC)

 * Edit: I by no means intend to disparage the production, or the previous wikipedians. But there is a clear disconnect here in my opinion. Personally I would advocate a notable productions section, incorporating landmark standard and non-standard productions. Within such a section the Katharina Wagner production might be called controversial, less so beside the history of 20th Century German nationalism. Who wrote this?

 * The article needs a "production history" section (as with most other opera articles from all eras) and, in it, an account of the K.W. would be most appropriate. Viva-Verdi (talk) 01:51, 14 December 2014 (UTC)

Rant
Just a trivial, very un-NPOV rant: In the Die Meistersinger Suite, the harp and percussion don't play until about the 300th measure (about 10 minutes into the piece). Then, they play for about 15 measures, and don't play for the rest of it. Which is why, with a couple of punctuation marks, we renamed it Die, Meistersinger! :) Dreamyshade

 * Why don't you include this in the Trivia section? You could say something along the lines of "Die M is unpopular with harpists because...". Although this is not quite as bad as the symphony (Bruckner's 7th?) where the triangle plays one note - right at the end of it.--Dogbertd 07:54, 15 June 2006 (UTC)

It would be an erroneous piece of trivia. The harp does play comparatively little during the opera, but does play throughout (beginning, middle and end). It enters about 50 bars into the overture and plays in and out of the opera; and although it does not play the actual ending of the work, it does so very close to the end. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Batonpower (talk • contribs) 20:31, 27 February 2008 (UTC)

In Act III synopsis, using the English word "section" for the German word "Bar"
The word used in the German libretto for a section of the Master Song is "Bar." The synopsis used the word "bar" as if it were the English equivalent. But that's a false friend (or perhaps a false cognate). A "bar" in English is a measure--a much smaller unit. Each "Bar" in Walther's prize song, however, contains perhaps two dozen measures. In fact the length and intricacy of these "Bar"s, and the tendency of each of them to extend and develop the previous "Bar" rather than to stay constrained to a tame, fixed length and form is a issue in the drama. So I changed the word "bar" to "section". Hope that's OK with people. DSatz 20:07, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

When a word is difficult to translate, that isn't necessarily ironic.
The section called "Genesis" contained these sentences, which I found somewhat overwritten:

"Although Die Meistersinger is a comedy, it also elucidates Wagner’s ideas on the place of music in society, on renunciation of the Will, and of the solace that music brings in a world full of “Wahn”. Wagner was always enthusiastic for his operas to be presented in the vernacular, so it is ironic that one of the central concepts in Die Meistersinger is a word difficult to translate into English: Wahn. "Illusion", "madness", "folly" and "self-deception" are all variously used to translate Wahn."

My only complaint is that this isn't really an ironic situation; it's a simple, common fact that a given word in one language may not have an exact equivalent in another language. Perhaps Wagner would have felt a bit frustrated at this situation if he had cared or been aware of it, but perhaps not; more than likely he would have thought that we non-Germans should all learn German, if only to understand his opera libretti. I can't imagine him hesitating over this sort of thing for one moment.

Also (though I didn't do anything about this), Die Meistersinger is indeed a comedy--but there's nothing unusual about profound ideas being presented in a comedy! So I really don't think that the "Although ..." construction belongs here. It really seems like over-reaching, like trying to sound "literary". The information presented in this article is excellent, and doesn't need to be cloaked in a "literary" style to make it good. DSatz 20:40, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

 * Fair enough. The irony - as I perhaps didn't express very well - is that Wagner wanted his works in english for an english audience, however one of the primary concepts in DMVN is a word which cannot really be translated into english: this is irony in anyone's book, but I did think when i wrote it that to call this irony would probably invite some comment. I know a lot of people don't understand the concept. I'd be happy if someone else wants to rewrite this section in a less "literary" style: I just thought it important to point out the way that some commentators have found the influence of Schopenhauer in DMVN. I also need to add a section on Barry Millington's opinion (ie. that Beckmesser is a Jewish stereotype).--Dogbertd 11:05, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

anime reference
The Trivia section now includes the following: Boogiepop from the popular anime franchise is fond of whistling the tune to the opera. Would anyone like to say which tune that is? The opera has, uh, several. --GuillaumeTell 17:58, 9 March 2007 (UTC)

Removal of Trivia
People, can we make an effort to remove the Trivia section? The guidelines at WP:TRIV suggest that information in trivia sections should be incorporated into the main text or removed. Some of the trivia here is very trivial (eg. attempts to note every use of material from Meistersinger in films or rock music) and I think should be removed. Some of it (the section on Hanslick) should be incorporated into the article.--Dogbertd 13:23, 14 May 2007 (UTC)

 * OK, I've removed the section and incorporated the relevant bits of info elsewhere in the article.--Dogbertd 08:13, 15 May 2007 (UTC)

Master/Meister?
Reading through the article again it strikes me that we've used "Meistersinger" pretty much all the way through when we're talking about the Mastersingers. Take a look at the article introduction to see what I mean. The Meistersingers developed a craftsmanlike approach to music-making etc. Would it be better to translate this word - except where it refers directly to the title of the opera?--Dogbertd 08:11, 15 May 2007 (UTC)

Gustav Hölzel
I've knocked up an article on the first Beckmesser, Gustav Hölzel, one of the (I surmise) few people who created roles for both Donizetti and Wagner. Google reveals a reference to (I think) his complaining that some of Beckmesser's part was too high (does this ring a bell?), but, frustratingly, all that one can see is an excerpt from an article by Barry Millington in one of those journals for which you have to pay £10 for a download:   I don't have much by way of literature on Wagner, and I wonder if anyone here knows anything of the story, or has anything else that they can usefully add to the article? --GuillaumeTell 15:22, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

 * The operissimo biography has some more content. I can read German and I've added some of the content to the article, but you may be interested in reading it yourself.Singingdaisies (talk) 18:58, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

The final warning against foreign influences
I really think it's important to indicate that the warning against foreign influences, in Sachs' final speech, has nothing to do with anything else in the opera. It's very ironic that MEISTERSINGER was so popular among the Nazis--its message is a call for dealing with outsider-ideas with an open mind. How much more ANTI-nazi can a message be???

Wagner wrote several operas which are supportive of nazism, but MEISTERSINGER is not one of them. (They are LOHENGRIN, THE GOBLIN'S RING, and PARSIFAL.) SingingZombie (talk) 05:58, 5 December 2009 (UTC) Secondly, Wagner wrote no operas which are supportive of Nazism. That his operas were appropriated and distorted by the Nazis fifty years after his death was nothing to do with Wagner. I'm interested to hear "The Goblin's Ring." That sounds like fun.--Dogbertd (talk) 22:17, 7 December 2009 (UTC)
 * I'm not quite sure if this is meant seriously, but I'll assume good faith. Firstly I think that the interpretative comments you've added are not relevant to the synopsis, which should tell the story - as Wagner wrote it - and should not include some sort of running commentary. If you can find verifiable support for your statements then they should be included in the section which discusses the reception of Die MS and which outlines the uses to which the opera was put.

 * OK, how about if I say: "Wagner wrote several operas whose messages can legitimately be used to support Nazism, but MEISTERSINGER is not one of them."?

 * And you say you want "verifiable support" for my claim that the final warning against foreign influences has nothing to do with anything else in the opera? How about the libretto itself--is that verifiable enough for you???  In fact there is exactly ONE mention of foreign influences, and that is in the final monologue itself.  Other than that, nothing atall.

 * You are making a sarcastic comment about the title "The Goblin's Ring"??? What do you think the word "Nibelung" means??? SingingZombie (talk) 22:38, 7 December 2009 (UTC)
 * No, you cannot write "Wagner wrote several operas whose messages can legitimately be used to support Nazism, but MEISTERSINGER is not one of them" unless you can reference it to a reliable source.

 * "How about the libretto itself--is that verifiable enough for you???" No, it's not. You are writing about your personal interpretation of the libretto, not about published commentary on the libretto.

 * SingingZombie, you have been warned about this kind of stuff (and your inappropriate, unreferenced, running commentaries) innumerable times in many different articles. These are supposed to be encyclopedia articles, not personal essays, magazine stories, internet forums, blogs, etc. They report what is already written in independently published reliable sources, not the personal musings of its editors. If you don't want your edits reverted, then you will have to take this on board. If you are not willing to take this on board, then you need to consider if Wikipedia is the right place for you. Voceditenore (talk) 23:48, 7 December 2009 (UTC)

 * I have found and entered a source for out-of-place-ness of final warning against foreign influences; source suggests Cosima (Wagner's wife) was responsible for it going into the opera at all. The source is Harry Kupfer, stage-director at Bayreuth.  (Directed best-selling video FLYING DUTCHMAN with Simon Estes and Matti Salminen.)

 * "Das heiss' ich mir echte Merkerschuh'; mein Merkersprüchlein hört dazu!" SingingZombie (talk) 04:48, 22 December 2009 (UTC)
 * Indeed, Wagner was tempted to remove it from the opera but Cosima didn't like the idea, and so it remains. There's some reference to this in one of Wagner's letters, which would also shed some light on why he thought he might remove it. Must look out for this.--Dogbertd (talk) 09:37, 22 December 2009 (UTC)

 * Wasn't there a recent production (probably in Germany) in which the music stopped before the final oration so that the singers could act out a discussion on whether it was appropriate to sing these words? Anyone remember details to aid a search for a reference?--Peter cohen (talk) 16:30, 22 December 2009 (UTC)
 * FWIW: Hamburg State Opera, directed by Peter Konwitschny. Early 2000s. -- megA (talk) 17:45, 8 October 2011 (UTC)

 * Having today read this page for first time in years, I join Dogbertd in saying it would be incorrect to say any Wagner opera was composed in support of Nazism because he died in 1883 before the rise of the Nazi party in the following century. To keep this in context it would more clearly correct to say to the effect that they were appropriated by Nazi thinkers in support of their own cause by hailing Wagner as a German nationalist (and conveniently anti-Semitic) prophet.Cloptonson (talk) 10:48, 9 January 2016 (UTC)

Satire?
In the article on Meistersinger there is a "Legacy" section which reads, in its entirety, "Richard Wagner, in his musical drama Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg of 1868, satirized the art of these early masters." Is satire the right word? Would anyone like to think of a better, and perhaps fuller, way of expressing what Wagner did?  almost - instinct 19:08, 19 April 2013 (UTC)
 * From : is "The plot of Richard Wagner's 1868 opera Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg revolves around the guild of Meistersingers and their singing contest." better? -- Michael Bednarek (talk) 02:08, 20 April 2013 (UTC)
 * Very elegant, thank you :-)  almost - instinct 09:43, 20 April 2013 (UTC)

Controversial infobox
I see there was an attempt to put a controversial infobox on this article without any prior proposal. I think that was unfortunate. Personally, I am opposed to using that box. -- Klein zach  01:10, 11 July 2013 (UTC)
 * Interesting. I see "trying" an infobox, following discussions on project opera culminating in "My personal opinion is that where a footer navbox is available, replacing the header one with the infobox is perfectly acceptable. It is also perfectly acceptable not to do so." (not by me) - There are hundreds of opera articles, several of them with a footer navbox available: I will not "propose" every single time that I replace redundant information by information about the specific article. A centralized discussion about the alternative is open. - Please be careful using "controversial", I prefer: perfectly acceptable to do so or not to do so. Back to the article: what's wrong with this specific infobox? --Gerda Arendt (talk) 11:12, 11 July 2013 (UTC)

Language tags
I cannot see that adding language tags, such as Mein Leben wherever German is used, really adds anything, since it simply parses as Mein Leben. Mein Leben produces exactly the same effect. --Michael Goodyear (talk) 13:52, 13 December 2014 (UTC)
 * You don't see it, but people using a screen reader hear a difference (the program will not try to pronounce in English but German.). - You improve accessibility adding the language (any language other than English), do so generously! - Nothing special to this work, of course. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 14:01, 13 December 2014 (UTC)

Synopsis questions
At the beginning of the synopsis, we have:

"After a magnificent prelude, a church service is just ending with a singing of Da zu dir der Heiland kam (When the Saviour came to thee), an impressive pastiche of a Lutheran chorale"

Is all this description/explanation within the real guidelines of a synopsis? The use of pastiche could be explained elsewhere (it's not part of the STORY), likewise, though the prelude is indeed magnificent, such description is also not relevant to the story.

Later, we have:

"David gives a confusing lecture on the mastersingers' rules for composing and singing. (Many of the tunes he describes were real master-tunes from the period.)"

Again, is this explanation of the origin of the tunes part of the STORY, or just editorial commentary that should be elsewhere in the article?

2001:558:6017:2F:D77:F234:843E:D734 (talk) 18:04, 13 December 2014 (UTC)

Ruskin
I moved this out. It's uncited, but that's not a serious issue, it just seems to stick out like a sore thumb in the section. Ruskin's obviously a famous guy, but he's not exactly known for his insights into music (or much else by the 1880s). This is certainly funny, but does it add real content?:
 * John Ruskin described Die Meistersinger in a letter to Georgina Burne-Jones in 1882: "Of all the bête, clumsy, blundering, boggling, baboon-blooded stuff I ever saw on a human stage, ... and of all the affected, sapless, soulless, beginningless, endless, topless, bottomless, topsiturviest, tongs and boniest doggerel of sounds I ever endured the deadliness of, that eternity of nothing was the deadliest, so far as the sound went. I never was so relieved, so far as I can remember in my life, by the stopping of any sound – not excepting railway whistles – as I was by the cessation of the cobbler's bellowing."

It's just a standard rant about about how 'modern stuff' is all formless noise etc. Paul B (talk) 21:02, 25 May 2015 (UTC)

Infobox?
I suggest to restore the 2013 infobox, --Gerda Arendt (talk) 11:28, 7 July 2015 (UTC)

 * done --Gerda Arendt (talk) 07:15, 11 July 2015 (UTC)

Apologies Gerda, only just seen this. I don't think it very appropriate. Have removed it pending further discussion. I suggest that idf you are going to add these boxes as you have at other Wagner operas, you raise the issue first at WP:Opera and WP:Wagner.--Smerus (talk) 10:07, 27 August 2015 (UTC)
 * Replied Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Opera, please let's have one discussion if we need one, - I don' think so. I like all Wagner's stageworks consistent, only completed what others began. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 11:00, 27 August 2015 (UTC)

 * I think this one could keep a infobox, it's a longer, extensive article, the summary material in an infobox is helpful to someone who wants the basic overview.  Montanabw (talk)  03:38, 28 August 2015 (UTC)

Assessment comment
Substituted at 13:24, 29 April 2016 (UTC)

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Welsch1
in the article it says: 1 ''The word translated here as "foreign" ("welsch") is a catch-all term denoting "French and/or Italian." Wagner here referred to the court of Frederick the Great, where French rather than German was spoken.''

1 welsch is an old German word that denotes the Romance (non-Germanic) languages, i. e. Italian or French or Occitan (compare the Anglo-Saxon "welsh", which has the same root) – it has neither negative nor positive connotations. I doubt that Wagner thought specifically of Frederick the Greats francophone court, I think he thought more generally about French cultural influence in the 18th and 19th century and possibly about the Napoleonic rule over Germany at the beginning of the century. --Furfur  ⁂ Diskussion 15:35, 10 April 2018 (UTC)
 * Agreed. Before replacing it with a broader definition (if others don't have a problem) could you just in case look for a reference that would back up "Wagner here referred to the court of Frederick the Great" statement. Rybkovich (talk) 18:02, 11 April 2018 (UTC)
 * Agreed, too. Firstly, why would Wagner rail against the long dead Frederick, or Hans Sachs against a German king in an unimaginable distant future? Secondly, in the context of 1868, Wagner used "welsch" (or "wälsch" in his spelling) almost certainly to refer to the French, and there's supporting literature. The "footnote" should be removed, and the English text could be replaced with a sourced version from here, or also be removed,

Beware! Evil tricks threaten us: if the German people and kingdom should one day decay, under a false, foreign rule soon no prince would understand his people; and foreign mists with foreign vanities they would plant in our German land; what is German and true none would know, if it did not live in the honour of German Masters. Therefore I say to you: honour your German Masters, then you will conjure up good spirits! And if you favour their endeavours, even if the Holy Roman Empire should dissolve in mist, for us there would yet remain holy German Art!
 * The box's history: by User:Dogbertd on 11-Sep-2009; the Frederick "footnote"  by User:BFolkman on 1-Dec-2013. -- Michael Bednarek (talk) 02:30, 12 April 2018 (UTC)

I beg to differ with both of these commentaries. The line "No prince would understand his people" is an unmistakable reference to Frederick the Great and his court. Wagner's whole point was that Germany was not, at the time of Meistersinger, on the verge of a great era of peace, prosperity and creativity--despite the optimistic atmosphere of the last act--but was soon to face very hard times and would not emerge as a nation for centuries--during which its national identity would be kept alive by its artists.BFolkman (talk) 16:07, 5 May 2018 (UTC)

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Talk:Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg


text:
List of compositions by Giuseppe Verdi

The following is a list of published compositions by the composer Giuseppe Verdi (1813–1901).

The list includes original creations as well as reworkings of the operas (some of which are translations, for example into French or from French into Italian) or subsequent versions of completed operas.

List of operas and revisions
Revision of earlier opera, including translations with material musical changes.

Incomplete projects

 * Re Lear (King Lear), 1856. Librettist Antonio Somma worked with Verdi on completing a libretto for an opera based on Shakespeare's King Lear. This libretto was based on an incomplete one written by librettist Salvatore Cammarano before he died in 1852. It was never set to music.

Songs

 * Sei Romanze (1838)
 * 1) Non t'accostar all'urna (Jacopo Vittorelli)
 * 2) More, Elisa, lo stanco poeta (Tommaso Bianchi)
 * 3) In solitaria stanza (Jacopo Vittorelli)
 * 4) Nell'orror di notte oscura (Carlo Angiolini)
 * 5) Perduta ho la pace (trans. by Luigi Balestra from Goethe's Faust)
 * 6) Deh, pietoso, o addolorata (trans. by Luigi Balestra from Goethe's Faust)
 * L'esule (1839) (Temistocle Solera)
 * La seduzione (1839) (Luigi Balestra)
 * Guarda che bianca luna: notturno (1839) (Jacopo Vittorelli) for soprano, tenor, bass and flute obbligato
 * Album di Sei Romanze (1845)
 * 1) Il tramonto (Andrea Maffei)
 * 2) La zingara (S. Manfredo Maggioni)
 * 3) Ad una stella (Maffei)
 * 4) Lo Spazzacamino (Felice Romani)
 * 5) Il Mistero (Felice Romani)
 * 6) Brindisi (Maffei)
 * Il poveretto (1847) (Maggioni)
 * L'Abandonée (1849) (Escudier)
 * Stornello (1869) (anon.)
 * Pietà Signor (1894) (Verdi and Boito)

Sacred works

 * Messa da Requiem (22 May 1874, San Marco, Milan): mass in memory of Alessandro Manzoni, for four solo voices, chorus, and orchestra
 * Libera me for Messa per Rossini (1869; premiered posthumously 11 September 1988, Stuttgart). Mass in memory of Gioachino Rossini. Verdi wrote the "Libera me", with contributions from twelve other composers.
 * Pater Noster (1873): for 5-part chorus
 * Ave Maria (1880): for soprano and strings
 * Quattro pezzi sacri (7 April 1898, Grande Opéra, Paris):
 * 1) Ave Maria (1889): for mixed solo voices
 * 2) Stabat Mater (1897): for mixed chorus and orchestra
 * 3) Laudi alla Vergine Maria (1888): for female voices
 * 4) Te Deum (1896): for double chorus and orchestra

Other sacred works

 * Tantum ergo in G major (1836)
 * Tantum ergo in F major
 * Messa in E-flat major
 * Laudate pueri in D major
 * Qui tollis in F major

Other vocal works (secular)

 * Suona la tromba (1848) (Goffredo Mameli), a patriotic hymn
 * Inno delle nazioni (1862, London) (Arrigo Boito), cantata for tenor, chorus and orchestra. (See Hymn (or Anthem) of the Nations)

Instrumental, orchestral, chamber works
Piano Orchestral
 * Romanza senza parole (written 1844, published 1865)
 * Waltz in F Major (written 1859)
 * Valzer (written by Verdi for piano, but not published until 1963 when Nino Rota adapted it for orchestra in his score for Luchino Visconti's film The Leopard)

 * Sinfonia in B-flat major
 * Sinfonia in C major
 * Sinfonia del M. Verdi in D major
 * with Giacomo Mori, Canto di Virginia Con Variazioni per Oboe Composte con accomp.to d'Orchestra quintetto

Chamber
 * String Quartet in E minor (1873)
 * Stramberia for violin and piano

title: List of compositions by Giuseppe Verdi


text:
Ruggero Leoncavallo

Ruggero (or Ruggiero)  Leoncavallo (, ,  ; 23 April 1857 – 9 August 1919) was an Italian opera composer and librettist. Although he produced numerous operas and songs throughout his career it is his opera Pagliacci (1892) that remained his lasting contribution, despite attempts to escape the shadow of his greatest success.

Today he remains largely known for Pagliacci, one of the most popular and frequently performed works in the opera repertory. His other compositions include the song "Mattinata", popularized by Enrico Caruso, and the symphonic poem La Nuit de mai.

Biography
The son of Vincenzo Leoncavallo, a police magistrate and judge, Leoncavallo was born in Naples, Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, on 23 April 1857.

As a child, Leoncavallo moved with his father to the town of Montalto Uffugo in Calabria, where he lived during his adolescence. In 1868 he returned to Naples, where he eventually became a student at San Pietro a Majella Conservatory. From 1876 to 1877 he studied literature under the famed Italian poet Giosuè Carducci at the University of Bologna.

In 1879, Leoncavallo's uncle Giuseppe, director of the press department at the Foreign Ministry in Egypt, suggested that his young nephew come to Cairo to showcase his pianistic abilities. Ruggero Leoncalvo arrived in Egypt shortly after the Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid II had deposed Khedive Ismail (June 1879) and replaced him as Khedive of Egypt with Ismail's son Tewfik Pasha. Mahmud Hamdi Pasha (1863-1921), the teenage brother of the new Khedive, appointed Ruggero Leoncavallo "as his private musician". His time in Egypt concluded abruptly in mid-1882, as the British intervened in the Urabi revolt of 1879-1882 in Alexandria and Cairo led by ‘Urabi; the composer fled and travelled to France. In Paris, Leoncavallo found lodging in Montmartre.

An agent located in the Rue du Faubourg-Saint-Denis secured Leoncavallo employment as an accompanist and instructor for artists who performed in Sunday concerts mostly at cafés. It was during this time that he met Berthe Rambaud (1869–1926) a "preferred student", who became his wife in 1895. Increasingly inspired by the French romantics, particularly Alfred de Musset, Leoncavallo began work on a symphonic poem based on Musset's poetry entitled La nuit de mai. The work was completed in Paris in 1886 and premiered in April 1887 to critical acclaim. With this success and now with enough accumulated money Leoncavallo and Rambaud would return to Milan to begin his career as a composer of opera.

Back in Italy, Leoncavallo spent some years teaching and attempting ineffectively to obtain the production of more than one opera, notably Chatterton. In 1890 he saw the enormous success of Pietro Mascagni's Cavalleria rusticana and wasted no time in producing his own verismo work, Pagliacci. (According to Leoncavallo, the plot of this work had a real-life origin: he claimed it derived from a murder trial in Montalto Uffugo, over which his father had presided.)

Pagliacci was performed in Milan in 1892 with immediate success; today it is the only work by Leoncavallo in the standard operatic repertory. Its most famous aria, "Vesti la giubba" ("Put on the costume" or, in the better-known older translation, "On with the motley"), was recorded by Enrico Caruso and laid claim to being the world's first record to sell a million copies (although this is probably a total of Caruso's various versions of it, made in 1902, 1904 and 1907).

The next year his I Medici was also produced in Milan, but neither it nor Chatterton (belatedly produced in 1896)—both early works—obtained much lasting favour. Much of Chatterton, however, was recorded by the Gramophone Company (later HMV) as early as 1908, and remastered on CD almost 100 years later by Marston Records. Leoncavallo himself conducts the performance or at very least supervises the production.

It was not until Leoncavallo's La bohème was performed in 1897 in Venice that his talent obtained public confirmation. However, it was outshone by Puccini's opera of the same name and on the same subject, which was premiered in 1896. Two tenor arias from Leoncavallo's version are still occasionally performed, especially in Italy.

Subsequent operas by Leoncavallo in the 1900s were: Zazà (the opera of Geraldine Farrar's famous 1922 farewell performance at the Metropolitan Opera), and 1904's Der Roland von Berlin. In 1906 the composer brought singers and orchestral musicians from La Scala to perform concerts of his music in New York, as well as making an extensive tour of the United States. The tour was, all in all, a qualified success. He had a brief success with Zingari, which premiered in Italian in London in 1912, with a long run at the Hippodrome Theatre. Zingari also reached the United States but soon disappeared from the repertoire.

After a series of operettas, Leoncavallo appeared to have tried for one last serious effort with Edipo re. It had always been assumed that Leoncavallo had finished the work but had died before he could finish the orchestration, which was completed by. However, with the publication of Konrad Dryden's biography of Leoncavallo it was revealed that Leoncavallo may not have written the work at all (although it certainly contains themes by Leoncavallo). A review of Dryden's study notes: "That fine Edipo re ... was not even composed by [Leoncavallo]. His widow paid another composer to concoct a new opera using the music of Der Roland von Berlin. Dryden didn't find one reference to the opera in Leoncavallo's correspondence nor is there a single note by him to be found in the handwritten score." Pennacchio may either have concocted the opera or may have had to do more to Leoncavallo's more or less complete work to "fill in the gaps" using Leoncavallo's earlier music.

Death and legacy
Leoncavallo died in Montecatini Terme, Tuscany, on 9 August 1919. His funeral was held two days later, with hundreds in attendance, including fellow composer Pietro Mascagni and longtime rival Giacomo Puccini. He was buried in the Cimitero delle Porte Sante in Florence.

70 years after his death a campaign was launched to move the composer's remains to Brissago, Switzerland, after an alleged letter written by Leoncavallo claimed to show he had desired to be buried there originally, although no such letter was ever found. Leoncavallo became an honorary citizen of Brissago and owned a lavish summer residence, Villa Myriam, in the town; in 1904 the composer had mentioned in a speech that he would not mind having a resting place in the town's Madonna di Porte cemetery, but it was never a written request in his will. Regardless the campaign to move Leoncavallo's remains moved ahead and was granted official approval by Piera Leoncavallo-Grand, the last remaining descendant of the composer. The body was exhumed for transfer to Switzerland along with the remains of his wife Berthe, who died in 1926.

The Museo Leoncavallo (Leoncavallo Museum) was established in 2002 in Brissago to commemorate the composer. It includes personal items and original manuscripts on display as well as statues representing characters from his operas Zazà and Der Roland von Berlin. The Museo Ruggiero Leoncavallo in the composer's childhood home of Montalto Uffugo was opened in 2010 and also contains various manuscripts and personal items, as well as Leoncavallo's personal piano.

Little from Leoncavallo's other operas is heard today, but the baritone arias from Zazà were great concert and recording favourites among baritones and Zazà as a whole is sometimes revived, as is his La bohème. The tenor arias from La bohème remain recording favorites.

Leoncavallo also composed songs, most famously "Mattinata", which he wrote for the Gramophone Company (which became HMV) with Caruso's unique voice in mind. On 8 April 1904, Leoncavallo accompanied Caruso at the piano as they recorded the song. On 8 December 1905 he recorded five of his own pieces for the reproducing piano Welte-Mignon.

Leoncavallo was the librettist for most of his own operas. Many considered him the greatest Italian librettist of his time after Boito. Among Leoncavallo's libretti for other composers is his contribution to the libretto for Puccini's Manon Lescaut.

Operas

 * Pagliacci – 21 May 1892, Teatro Dal Verme, Milan.
 * I Medici – 9 November 1893, Teatro Dal Verme, Milan). (The first part of the uncompleted trilogy, Crepusculum.)
 * Chatterton – 10 March 1896, Teatro Argentina, Rome. (Revision of a work written in 1876.)
 * La bohème – 6 May 1897, Teatro La Fenice, Venice.
 * Zazà – 10 November 1900, Teatro Lirico, Milan.
 * Der Roland von Berlin – 13 December 1904, Königliches Opernhaus, Berlin.
 * Maïa – 15 January 1910, Teatro Costanzi, Rome.
 * Zingari – 16 September 1912, Hippodrome, London.
 * Mimi Pinson – 1913, Teatro Massimo, Palermo. (Revision of La bohème.)
 * Mameli – 27 April 1916, Teatro Carlo Felice, Genoa. (Note that the Fondazione Leoncavallo classes this as an opera rather than an operetta. )
 * Edipo re – 13 December 1920, Chicago Opera. (Produced after the composer's death, at very least orchestration not by Leoncavallo, completed or perhaps composed by Giovanni Pennacchio.)

Operettas

 * La jeunesse de Figaro – 1906, United States.
 * Malbrouck – 19 January 1910, Teatro Nazionale, Rome.
 * La reginetta delle rose – 24 June 1912, Teatro Costanzi, Rome.
 * Are You There? – 1 November 1913, Prince of Wales Theatre, London.
 * La candidata – 6 February 1915, Teatro Nazionale, Rome.
 * Prestami tua moglie – 2 September 1916, Casino delle Terme, Montecatini. (English title: Lend me your wife.)
 * Goffredo Mameli  – 27 April 1916, Teatro Carlo Felice, Genoa.
 * A chi la giarrettiera? – 16 October 1919, Teatro Adriano, Rome. (English title: Whose Garter Is This?) Produced after the composer's death.
 * Il primo bacio – 29 April 1923 Salone di cura, Montecatini. Produced after the composer's death.
 * La maschera nuda  – 26 June 1925 Teatro Politeama, Naples. Produced after the composer's death.

Other works

 * La nuit de mai – poème symphonique for tenor and orchestra after Alfred de Musset, Paris 1886 (also performed and recorded in 1990 and – with Plácido Domingo – in 2010)
 * Séraphitus Séraphita – Poema Sinfonico after Honoré de Balzac, Teatro alla Scala, Milan 1894

title: Ruggero Leoncavallo


text:
Francesco Cilea

Francesco Cilea (23 July 1866 – 20 November 1950) was an Italian composer. Today he is particularly known for his operas L'arlesiana and Adriana Lecouvreur.

Biography
Born in Palmi near Reggio di Calabria, Cilea was the son of a prominent lawyer and originally intended to follow his father into a law career. He gave an early indication of an aptitude for music when at the age of four he heard a performance of Vincenzo Bellini's Norma and was greatly affected by it. He was sent to study music at the Conservatorio di San Pietro a Majella in Naples, where he quickly demonstrated his diligence and precocious talent, earning a gold medal from the Ministero della Pubblica Istruzione (Department of Education).

In 1889, for his final examination at the end of his course of study, he submitted his opera Gina, with a libretto by Enrico Golisciani which was adapted from the old French play Catherine, ou La Croix d'or by Baron Anne-Honoré-Joseph Duveyrier de Mélésville (1787–1865). This "melodramma idilico" was performed in the college theatre, and it attracted the attention of the publishers Sonzogno, who arranged for a second production, in Florence, in 1892.

Sonzogno also then commissioned from Cilea La Tilda, a verismo opera in three short acts along the lines of Mascagni's Cavalleria rusticana. With a libretto by Angelo Zanardini, La Tilda had a successful first performance in April 1892 at the Teatro Pagliano in Florence, and after performances in a number of Italian theatres, it arrived at the Vienna Exhibition on 24 September 1892, alongside other works from the firm of Sonzogno. The composer never showed much sympathy for this work, the subject of which he reluctantly agreed to set to music in order to please Sonzogno and to avoid throwing away a rare professional opportunity. The loss of the orchestral score has prevented the modern revival of this work, whose fresh and catchy melodies can nevertheless be discovered in the transcription for voice and piano.

On 27 November 1897, the Teatro Lirico in Milan saw the première of Cilea's third opera L'Arlesiana, based on the play by Alphonse Daudet, with a libretto by Leopoldo Marenco. Among the cast was the young Enrico Caruso, who performed with great success the Lamento di Federico: È la solita storia del pastore, the romance which was to keep alive the memory of the opera even to the present day. In reality L'Arlesiana was a failure which Cilea, being convinced of the work's value, tried repeatedly to remedy, making drastic and detailed alterations throughout the remainder of his life. In the score which we hear today, it is hard to find a single bar which is completely unchanged from the original. The revised opera was however still not successful, apart from a brief period in the 1930s when it benefited from political support which the composer established through personal contact with Mussolini.

Again at the Teatro Lirico in Milan, on 6 November 1902 and again with Enrico Caruso, the composer won an enthusiastic reception for Adriana Lecouvreur, a 4-act opera with a libretto by Arturo Colautti, set in 18th century Paris and based upon a play by Eugène Scribe. Adriana Lecouvreur is the opera of Cilea which is best known to international audiences today, and it reveals the spontaneity of a melodic style drawn from the Neapolitan school combined with harmonic and tonal shading influenced by French composers such as Massenet.

There are a number of extant examples documenting Cilea's modest skills as a performer. At the piano Cilea accompanied Caruso in a recording of a part of the duet Non piu nobile and made another recording with the baritone De Luca at the same time (November 1902). In 1904, for the Gramophone (and Typewriter Company), he accompanied the tenor Fernando de Lucia in L'Anima ho stanca from Adriana Lecouvreur and in the song Lontananza, an effort which critic Michael Henstock (in his biography of de Lucia) declares is hardly inspired by de Lucia's fine performances. According to Henstock, even given the crude recording techniques of the day Cilea's piano playing seems square and lifeless.

Cilea's last opera, premièred at La Scala in Milan on 15 April 1907 under the baton of Arturo Toscanini, was the 3-act tragedy Gloria, again with a libretto by Colautti, based on a play by Victorien Sardou. The opera was withdrawn after only two performances; and the failure of this work, even though the composer attempted a later revision, was enough to drive him to abandon the operatic stage for good. There are however indications of some later unfulfilled operatic projects, which survive as parts or sketches of libretti, such as Il ritorno dell'amore by Renato Simoni, Malena by Ettore Moschino, and La rosa di Pompei, also by Moschino (dated "Naples, 20 May 1924"). Some sources also refer to an opera of 1909, completed but never performed, called Il matrimonio selvaggio, but no copy of this survives and Cilea himself made no mention of it in his volumes of memoirs ("Ricordi").

Nevertheless, he continued to compose chamber music, and some orchestral music. In 1913 he produced a symphonic poem in honour of Giuseppe Verdi with verses by Sem Benelli, which was first performed at the Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa. After this he devoted himself principally to education and became director of the Conservatorio Vincenzo Bellini in Palermo, and then at his alma mater, the Conservatorio San Pietro a Maiella in Naples, where he ended his teaching career in 1936.

In his last years Cilea's eyesight failed but his mind was active enough to encourage and work with singers of the day. Among his last musical activities was his championship of the soprano Magda Olivero (1910–2014), whose performances in the title role of Adriana Lecouvreur he especially admired. Cilea died in Varazze, a town near Savona in Liguria, which offered him honorary citizenship and where he spent the last years of his life. The Conservatorio di Musica and the Teatro Comunale of Reggio di Calabria were renamed in his memory, and his native town of Palmi built a mausoleum in his memory, decorated with scenes from the myth of Orpheus.

Works
Operas
 * Gina (February 1889 Teatro Conservatorio S. Pietro alla Majella, Naples)
 * La Tilda (April 1892 Teatro Pagliano, Florence)
 * L'Arlesiana (November 1897 Teatro Lirico, Milan)
 * first revision (October 1898 Milan)
 * second revision (1910)
 * third revision (1937)
 * Adriana Lecouvreur (November 1902 Teatro Lirico, Milan)
 * Gloria (April 1907 Teatro alla Scala, Milan)
 * revision (1932)

Other works
 * Foglio d'album, Op. 41
 * Gocce di rugiada
 * L'arcolaio
 * Melodia (F major)
 * Symphonic Poem in honour of Giuseppe Verdi
 * Romanza (A major)
 * Sonata for cello and piano in D major, Op. 38 (1888)
 * Waltz in D flat major

Voice and piano
 * Romanza, text by Giuseppe Florio (1883)
 * Litania I, text from Litany of Loreto (1887)
 * Litania II, text from Litany of Loreto (1887)
 * Bionda larva, text by Enrico Golisciani (1888)
 * Serenata (L'aere imbruna), text by Giuseppe Pessina
 * Il mio canto, text by Angelo Bignotti
 * Serenata (Mormorante di tenero desio), text by P. Joe
 * Non ti voglio amar?..., text by Giuseppe Pessina (1890)
 * Alba novella, text by Leopoldo Marenco (1897)
 * Lontananza!, text by Romeo Carugati (I version 1904; II version 1944)
 * Mazurka, text by A. Villa (1904)
 * Nel ridestarmi, text by Felice Soffrè (1921)
 * Vita breve (Una lettera), text by Annie Vivanti (1921–1923)
 * Maria-Mare, text by Carmelo Pujia (1933)
 * Ninnananna popolare savoiarda, text transcribed by Giorgio Nataletti (1934)
 * Salute, o genti umane affaticate!, text by Giosuè Carducci (I version 1934; II version 1943)
 * Dolce amor di Povertade, text by Anonymous, (1943)
 * Statuit ei Dominus, text from Wisdom of Sirach - Bible (1943)
 * Tre vocalizzi da concerto (1928)
 * I. Gaiezza
 * II. Dolore
 * III. Festosità
 * Tre vocalizzi (1930)
 * I. Voce Grave
 * II. Voce Media
 * III. Voce Acuta

title: Francesco Cilea