ALLEGRA & THE CELLO,
IN MOVEMENTS
A NEW FULL-LENGTH OPERA FOR
ONE SOPRANO & ONE CELLO
COMING IN DECEMBER 2026
LA MAMA
EXPERIMENTAL THEATRE CLUB
In Partnership with
HIGH HARD HEAT/Dominick Balletta
PRESENTS
a world premiere opera
Story and Libretto
CATHERINE FILLOUX
Music
JULIA SCHWARTZ
Starring
BRITTANY RENEE as ALLEGRA
AKUA DIXON, CELLO
ALLEGRA & THE CELLO, IN MOVEMENTS
Set/Lighting Design
Justin Townsend
Projection Design
Milton Cordero
Costume Design
Suttirat Larlarb &
Brynne Oster-Bainnson
Casting Director
Jamibeth Margolis, CSA
Directed by
Elena Araoz
Witness a groundbreaking moment in opera history with Allegra & the Cello, in Movements, where the first-ever female doctor to take stage in opera brings to life the story of Allegra. Set in the tension-filled days before a high-stakes trial, Allegra lets the audience of lawyers into the most vulnerable and difficult moments in her life and career as they navigate her pretrial discovery together.
Through a bold fusion of rhythm, movement, emotion, silence and vibrant colors, Allegra & the Cello, in Movements explores the struggles of a woman who questions and defies law for the sake of humanity. With the music of a single cello guiding Allegra through each scene, this opera challenges tradition in more ways than one.
Join Allegra in her discovery--a story of wavering resilience and eternal resistance.
OUR CAST &
CREATIVE TEAM
Meet the incredible talent & team behind the show.
Continue below to read their bios.
Catherine Filloux
Story & Libretto
Photo Credit: Vandy Rattana
Julia Schwartz
Music
Photo Credit: Arthur Häberli.
Brittany Renee
Allegra
Photo Credit: Daniel Welch
Akua Dixon
Cellist
Photo Credit: Michael Webber
CATHERINE FILLOUX (Story and Libretto) is an award-winning French Algerian American playwright and librettist who has been writing about human rights for many decades. Filloux’s plays and libretti have been produced in the U.S., internationally, and are widely published, anthologized and written about. Catherine is the librettist for four produced operas: New Arrivals (Houston Grand Opera, composer John Glover); Where Elephants Weep (Chenla Theatre, Phnom Penh, Cambodia, composer Him Sophy) Cambodian national TV and Broadway on Demand; The Floating Box (Asia Society, NYC, composer Jason Kao Hwang) New World Records; co-librettist with composer Olga Neuwirth for Orlando, Vienna State Opera, Grawemeyer Award winner, Komische Opera Berlin. Filloux’s new musical Welcome to the Big Dipper (composer Jimmy Roberts, co-book writer John Daggett) appeared Off-Broadway, York Theatre, cast recording StarVista Music, 2027 season ACTORS Inc. Ames, Iowa. Catherine’s new epistolary play Third Person premiered at CultureHub in New York City and her new play Olivia is part of her recent call to action project surrounding fossil fuels. Filloux has traveled for her plays to conflict areas including Bosnia, Cambodia, Guatemala, Haiti, Iraq, Northern Ireland, Sudan and South Sudan. She received her French Baccalaureate in Philosophy with Honors in Toulon, France www.catherinefilloux.com
JULIA SCHWARTZ (Music) is a composer, conductor and soprano born in Columbus, Ohio, who grew up in a musical family; her father, Paul Schwartz, founded the music department at Kenyon College. After graduating from the Oberlin College Conservatory with a bachelor's degree in voice, she continued her studies in voice and music theory in Munich and Zurich. She composes pieces of music theater, choral and orchestral works, vocal and instrumental chamber music, art songs, and works for solo instruments. Her works have been performed in Switzerland, Germany, Austria, France, Poland, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Bolivia and the U.S. Several of her works have been published in German music publishing houses: Carus, Furore and Certosa. Julia is active as a choral conductor and currently directs the Neuwerkchor and the Chorellen in Constance, Germany and BLECH in Bischofszell, Switzerland. She participated for several years in continuing education programs in choral and orchestral conducting at the Zurich University of the Arts. The latter included intensive rehearsal weeks and performances with orchestras in Bulgaria. She is a board member of musica femina münchen and participates in the Forum für vokale Vielfalt. She teaches voice privately and lives in Frauenfeld, Switzerland www.juliaschwartz.ch
BRITTANY RENNEE (Allegra) GRAMMY Award-winning soprano Brittany Renee has affirmed her status as a rising star destined for a luminous future.
This season, Mrs. Renee débuts with Boston Lyric Opera as Blanche in A Streetcar Named Desire. Last season, she returned to The Metropolitan Opera as her esteemed Bess in Porgy & Bess following her successful run at Washington National Opera. In addition, she returned to San Francisco Opera for her portrayal of Sister Rose in Dead Man Walking, joined Florentine Opera for her role début as Donna Anna in Don Giovanni, and performed excerpts of Porgy & Bess and Knoxville: Summer of 1915 in concert with Colorado Springs Philharmonic.
Mrs. Renee recently brought her portrayal of Musetta in La Bohème to The Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, and Houston Grand Opera in her house début. She was also featured at National Sawdust as Esther in the world premiere of Prestini’s Silent Light.
AKUA DIXON (Cellist): Cellist-Composer-Conductor-Educator, Akua Dixon has been at the forefront of improvising string players since 1973. She is the first cellist to win the Downbeat Critics Poll. A multi laureate of the National Endowment for the Arts in composition and performance, Akua is considered “amongst the treasures of contemporary jazz” (New Jersey Star Ledger).
She has toured the world performing with her Grammy Award-winning string quartet, Quartette Indigo, ”jazz’s leading string quartet” (Boston Globe). Akua’s string arrangements can be heard on the five-time Grammy Award-winning album, THE MISEDUCATION OF LAURYN HILL and Aretha Franklin’s Grammy nominated, A ROSE IS STILL A ROSE. She has performed with Duke Ellington, Max Roach, Ray Charles, Lionel Hampton, etc. Akua has performed at concert halls and Festivals in the United States, Europe, and the Caribbean.
A native New Yorker, Akua attended its infamous High School of Performing Arts and studied cello with Benar Heifetz. Akua conducted Riverside by Judith Jamison, music by Kimati Dinizulu for the 1995 season premiere at City Center. She is the 1998 recipient of the African American Classical Music Award. In 2005 she developed her Hip Hop Blues Project for NYC school children while working with Carnegie Hall Education.
Akua’s new project is We the People. Dedicated to “All The People” it speaks to the themes of justice, equality and hope.