Sir Anthony Hopkins has fulfilled a lifelong ambition by signing his first recording contract as a composer, with the Oscar-winning actor set to release his debut album of original orchestral music next month.
'Greatest honour of my ife'
The 88-year-old The Silence of the Lambs star will release Life Is a Dream through Decca Classics on 21 August. The album brings together orchestral compositions that Hopkins has written over the past six decades.
"The first desire I ever had, my first dream, was music," Hopkins said. "I've been writing music all my life. Some of these pieces have been with me for decades, and I keep returning to them. My whole life is a dream. Signing with Decca is the greatest honour of my life."
The first track from the album, Bracken Road, was released on Friday. The composition draws inspiration from Hopkins' childhood memories of Margam in south Wales, as well as the meadows, mountains and landscapes surrounding his family home during the 1940s.
The piece was originally written in 1963 while Hopkins was a young actor performing at Liverpool Playhouse Theatre.
Childhood dream
The album is performed by the London-based Philharmonia Orchestra under the baton of Grammy Award-winning conductor Gustavo Dudamel. It also features cellist Gregorio Nieto and pianist Sergio Tiempo as soloists.
Hopkins, who was born in Port Talbot, began playing the piano at the age of four and has been composing music since childhood, although his acting career ultimately brought him international fame.
Reflecting on the recording, he described it as "a true privilege" to work with the Philharmonia Orchestra and its soloists, while paying tribute to Dudamel's contribution.
"With the graceful precision of his baton, he transformed every note, giving it profound and lasting meaning and creating a musical landscape that invites the listener to feel and imagine something deeply personal," Hopkins said.
The album also includes My Fatherland, a composition dedicated to his Welsh roots.
Hopkins said he wrote the piece to honour his humble beginnings, adding: "I am my father's son – the baker's son."
