Win! Tickets to hear the Philharmonia Orchestra

The 2010-11 Birmingham International Concert Season opens on Thursday 23 September (5.30pm) at Symphony Hall with the UK premiere of a production of Wagner's Tristan und Isolde with accompanying film projections.

This performance is the result of a major collaboration between conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen, celebrated film artist Bill Viola and artistic collaborator Peter Sellars. Set against the evocative and stunning visuals by Viola, the Philharmonia Orchestra is joined by soloists Gary Lehman and Violeta Urmana (in the title roles), Anne Sofie von Otter and John Relyea in Wagner’s hymn of love and death. 

The work was premiered in Los Angeles in 2004 and revived in Paris and New York to great acclaim. 'It's one of the greatest experiences of my artistic life,' says Salonen. The 2010 run takes in Lucerne and Dortmund before coming to Birmingham and London.  Salonen considers Bill Viola to be 'the most important video artist in the world today. His language is perfect for Wagner ... the images are hauntingly beautiful, and once you have seen them you never forget them.'

Click here for full details.

We have a pair of tickets to give away for this concert. To enter, answer the following question:

In which city was Richard Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde premiered in 1865?

Image: Kira Perov