Based on groundbreaking research about near-death experiences, Infinitesimal blurs the boundaries between science, memoir, theater, and music, transmuting chamber opera into an expansive sonic landscape, pushing the expressive limits to reimagine the singer-pianist duo. It showcases queer and female voices through the shared experiences of its central characters and "amplifies the vital interconnection between humans" (Paradiso.Pure Living). Dancing at the threshold between our existence and what lies beyond it, Infinitesimal is directed by Kevin Newbury and composed and performed by pianist Nicole Brancato and baritone Jeremy Weiss.
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Infinitesimal blurs the boundaries between science, memoir, theater, and music, transmuting chamber opera into an expansive sonic landscape, pushing the expressive limits to reimagine the singer-pianist duo. At once cosmic and deeply human, Infinitesimal magnifies the vastness of the universe while celebrating the richness of our individual fleeting lives. It showcases queer and female voices through the shared experiences of its central characters and "amplifies the vital interconnection between humans" (Paradiso.Pure Living).
Dancing at the threshold between our existence and what lies beyond it, Infinitesimal is directed by Kevin Newbury and composed by Nicole Brancato and Jeremy Weiss. Infinitesimal will be presented in concert and staged formats in the UK, Italy, and France during October 2025, with a full premiere in New York City during Spring 2026. Infinitesimal is supported in part by The Puffin Foundation, Yamaha, Pure.Art Circle (Italy), MADarts, and Paradiso Pure.Living (Italy).
For more visit: www.infinitesimalopera.com
This is a seated performance. If you require accessibility accommodations, please email boxoffice@nationalsawdust.org.
// This performance is made possible thanks to the generous support of Kathryn and Emmanuel Morlet and the Wescustogo Foundation.
ABOUT KEVIN NEWBURY, DIRECTOR
Kevin Newbury is an opera, theatre & film director. Career highlights: three PBS Great Performances Broadcasts: Bernstein’s MASS (Ravinia Festival), and the world premieres of Doubt (Minnesota Opera) & Bel Canto (Lyric Opera of Chicago); dozens of other world premieres including GRAMMY-Winner The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs (Santa Fe Opera, Seattle Opera, San Francisco Opera), Fellow Travelers (Cincinnati Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Prototype Festival, etc., NY Times: “BEST of 2016”), Castor & Patience (Cincinnati Opera, NY Times: “BEST of 2022”). Kansas City Choir Boy, starring Courtney Love (Prototype Festival & National Tour) The Righteous (Santa Fe Opera), The Good Swimmer (BAM Next Wave Festival) and Candy & Dorothy (GLAAD Media Award Winner: Best Play). Kevin’s work has been nominated four times for “Best World Premiere” at the International Opera Awards.
Kevin’s long association with the work of Leonard Bernstein includes directing 6 productions of MASS (Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center Philadelphia Orchestra, etc), and Candide (starring Bradley Cooper & Carey Mulligan, Philadelphia Orchestra). Kevin has directed seven productions for the Prototype Festival in NYC, more than any other director. TV/Film credits include Apple TV’s Dickinson (“Split the Lark,” named one of the best episodes of 2021 by Entertainment Weekly), SOUL(SIGNS) : Making Music Visible (Upcoming : PBS), dozens of film festivals and awards and the Time Square Midnight Moment. Creative Director: Liz Phair’s 30th Anniversary Exile in Guyville Tour (2023). Co-Founder: Up Until Now Collective. www.kevinnewbury.com
ABOUT NICOLE BRANCATO, COMPOSER, LIBRETTIST, & PIANIST
Nicole Brancato makes music to unlock wonder. Fascinated with contemporary expressions of our shared human experience, the NYC-based pianist merges curation, composition, and performance in collaborations across the arts. Described as “brilliant” and an “immense talent” (New York Magazine & Connect Savannah), Nicole is “redefining the very notion of classical music” (Atención San Miguel). Her credits range from the Guggenheim Museum (NYC), Rai Italia, and the Banff Centre (Canada), to Lincoln Center, Bellas Artes (Mexico), and HBO. A sought after guest artist and presenter, Nicole’s extensive experience includes the Gesellschaftshaus Magdeburg (Germany), Lunigiana International Music Festival (Italy), and dozens of universities across the US. She is an awardee of NYFA (multiple years), NYSCA (2024), Pure.Art Circle Italy (2024), IPaT at Georgia Tech (2024), and National Sawdust’s Hildegard Competition (2022 Finalist), and is Director of Seven Hills Chamber Music. Additionally, Nicole is a Yamaha Artist, a current Artist in Residence with the NYC Department of Education, and a voting member of The Recording Academy (GRAMMYS). www.nicolebrancato.com
ABOUT JEREMY WEISS, COMPOSER, LIBRETTIST, & BARITONE
With a “heart wrenchingly beautiful” (Interludes) voice possessing an “indigo-tinged sensuousness” (Opera News), the career of baritone Jeremy Weiss spans two continents. His recent credits include L’Opéra National de Paris, The Ravinia Festival with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, L’Opéra-Théâtre de Metz Metropole, and The Brooklyn Academy of Music. Upcoming house debuts include: Seattle Opera, Portland Opera, and San Diego Opera with Fellow Travelers. Weiss is also on the forefront of developing “innovative, engrossing, and boundary-shattering” (Opera News) multidisciplinary projects that transform the way audiences connect with classical music. The Wandering — a queer, transmedia visual album and immersive audience experience — is based on Schubert’s lieder and it headlined the Innovation in Art Song Summit at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. A vocal chameleon, Weiss has sung Schaunard in La Bohème, Orfeo in Belli’s Orfeo Dolente, Steve Jobs in Mason Bates’s The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs, and Garibaldo in Handel’s Rodelinda. Jeremy was awarded third prize in the Lotte Lenya Competition in 2022 and in the Handel Aria Competition in 2025.
ABOUT GREG HAMMONTREE, SOUND ARTIST, TECHNICAL DESIGN, & MULTI-INSTRUMENTALIST
An “impossibly talented” (The Syncopated Times) multi-instrumentalist, technical designer, and sound artist, Greg Hammontree is a quiet revolutionary. Based in New York, his work is both understated and unapologetically rebellious, challenging convention from the inside out. His wide-ranging credits include The Blue Note NYC, Festspielhaus St. Pölten (Austria), Radio City Music Hall, Bing Concert Hall (Stanford), The Kaufman Center (Kansas City), and Konzerthaus Berlin (Germany). “Infectiously energetic and inventive” (The Wee Review Arts & Culture, Scotland), Hammontree’s creative practice thrives at the intersection of sound design, live performance, and multimedia experimentation. He is a recipient of grants and commissions from the Queens Council on the Arts (2020, 2022, 2024), Flushing Town Hall (2024), and NYC’s City Artist Corps (2021). His music and sound design have appeared on Netflix, CBS, HBO, RAI, PBS, BBC3, ABC, and NPR. www.greghammontree.com
ABOUT CALISTA SMALL, SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGIST & DRAMATIC CONSULTANT
As the Research Manager, Calista Small leads and manages mixed-methods studies on a range of topics related to social cohesion and division in the US. Previously, she worked across two labs at Columbia University: the Couples Lab, where she researched stress in the context of interpersonal relationships, and the SCAN Lab, where she assisted fMRI research on mixed emotional experiences. Prior to her work in psychology, she spent four years working in the arts as both a professional actor and producer of contemporary, interdisciplinary performance. She holds a B.A. in Humanities from Yale University and a post-baccalaureate degree in Psychology from Columbia University.
"An extraordinary new step into chamber opera” (Pure.Art Circle, Italy), Infinitesimal explores life’s deepest mystery: the passage between life and death.