[1] Hadrian is Wainwright's second opera, following Prima Donna, which premiered at the Manchester International Festival in 2009.
However, lacking the confidence to "navigate all the emotional possibilities" that Hadrian would require, he concentrated his efforts on Prima Donna as his first opera production.
[3] The opera in four acts focuses on Hadrian's relationship with Antinous, who has drowned.
"[2] MacIvor has also said of the opera: "The mystery of why Hadrian's remarkable love for Antinous – underlined by his bottomless grief – has not been celebrated widely as a model of eros points to a fear of same-sex love that has changed little from his age to ours.
The deeper I delve into Hadrian's world and his time, the more parallels I see to how we live today.