Beautiful as the Sky

Francis Poulenc | Figure Humaine
Hilary Purrington | World Premiere
Jeffrey Van | A Procession Winding Around Me

In this program, The Thirteen explores moral beauty in three guises: the second World War, the American Civil War, and the women’s rights movement in America.

Poulenc secretly composed his Figure Humaine in Vichy France, with the intention that it should be performed in Paris upon liberation from Nazi rule. Last performed by The Thirteen in 2018, this twelve-part tour de force is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and to the practice of remembrance.

Leonard Bernstein Award-winning composer Hilary Purrington writes a new work for The Thirteen that traces the progress and intimate stories of the American women’s rights movement. Jeffrey Van’s A Procession Winding Around Me sets Civil War poems by Walt Whitman for choir and solo classical guitar with music as evocative and transcendent as the poetry. 

This program is made possible by a generous gift from Margaret Colgate Love. The commissioning of the World Premiere by Hilary Purrington is made possible by a gift to The Thirteen’s Building for Tomorrow fund by J. Penny Clark.

INDIVIDUAL TICKETS
(on sale 09/01/2023)

Preferred Seating: $65 ($10 more if purchased at the door)
General Admission: $45 ($10 more if purchased at the door)
Student Tickets with Current Student ID: $15 ($10 more if purchased at the door)
Non-resident virtual-only ticket: $40

All in-person tickets include access to the virtual performance On Demand.