The purpose of this study was to provide an analysis of the major arias and ensembles of Jody Nagel's Fifty-Third Street for performance practice, drawing upon a case study of the premiere. The opera Fifty-Third Street was composed in 1992 by Nagel for his dissertation project at the University of Texas at Austin. The librettist is Seth Wolitz, then a University of Texas faculty member. The opera examines the lives of two homeless men on 53rd Street in New York City, between 5th and 6th Streets, and the reactions toward them from various facets of society, including the church, art institutions, businesses and tourists. The opera was premiered at Sursa Performance Hall on the campus of Ball State University on April 12, 2007 with a subsequent performance on April 15, 2007.Both the piano/vocal score and the chamber orchestra score from the premiere have been examined in the analysis of the opera, in addition to the original treatise by Jody Nagel. The analysis is conducted from a performer's perspective and examines vocal aspects, including potential technical challenges, range and tessitura; musical aspects, including formal analysis, tonality, melody, harmony and rhythm in relation to the text; drama and staging, and character motivation for each of the major arias and ensembles. Suggestions are offered for practice and performance based upon the analysis and informal interviews with the composer, conductor, directors, cast and crew of the premiere performance. Appendices include scene charts, costume lists, lighting and projection cues, original set and publicity materials, and a DVD recording of the world premiere performance.Many composers throughout the centuries have used opera as a way to comment on the world in which they lived and to challenge the status quo: Mozart, Le nozze di Figaro; Verdi, Un ballo in maschera; Berg, Wozzek; Britten, Peter Grimes. Jody Nagel has continued this tradition in a way that is powerful and compelling. Future directors will discover that Fifty-Third Street offers an invaluable tool for the musical development of students and professionals, for the growth of the American opera repertory, and for challenging the American way of life. / School of Music

When Czech composer Bedřich Smetana's opera The Bartered Bride received its American premiere at the Metropolitan Opera in February 1909, New York music critics published positive reviews which displayed a great fascination with the many "Bohemian" aspects of the production. However, certain comments or language used by some critics indicate that American opinions of the Czech people were less than positive. After Czechs began immigrating to America en masse in 1848, already-established American citizens developed skewed cultural perceptions of the Czech people, established negative stereotypes, and propagated their opinions in various forms of press throughout the nation. Despite a general dislike of the Czechs, reviewers revered The Bartered Bride and praised its many authentic "Bohemian" qualities. This research explores the idea of a paradoxical cultural phenomenon in which the prejudice against Czech people did not fully cross over into the musical sphere. Instead, appreciation for Czech music and musicians may have trumped any such negative opinions and authentic Czech productions such as The Bartered Bride may have been considered a novelty in the eyes of early twentieth-century New Yorkers.