Hadrian (2018), the second opera by Rufus Wainwright will be performed as semi-staged concert version at Festival Castell Peralada in Spain on July 29. The production will be supported by the images of photographer Robert Mapplethorpe.
The four-act opera is performed by Coro y Orquesta titulares del Teatro Real under the direction of Scott Dunn and Chorus Director Andrés Máspero. The Libretto is by Daniel MacIvor and Stage Direction by Jorn Weisbrodt.
The opera tells the story of Emperor Hadrian, devastated after his lover Antinous drowns in the Nile River. While matters of state encroach on his grief, and advisors clamour for war against a radical new threat to the Empire, Hadrian slips out of time to re-encounter the vision and reality of Antinous—and learn the truth about what happened on the Nile.
CAST
Hadrian, Thomas Hampson
Plotina, Ainhoa Arteta
Antinous, Xabier Anduaga
Turbo, Rubén Amoretti
Sabina, Vanessa Goikoetxea
Trajan, Alejandro del Cerro
Fabius, Vicenç Esteve
Hermogenes, Gregory Dahl
First Senador, Pablo García-López
Second Senador, Josep-Ramón Olivé
Third Senador, David Lagares
Lavia, Berna Perles
Dinarchus, Albert Casals