Silence Of The Lambs star Sir Anthony Hopkins says he has achieved his “first desire” of signing a record deal as a composer.
The 88-year-old has signed to Decca Classics and will release his first album on the label next month, titled Life Is A Dream, a collection of pieces he has worked on for six decades, with the first single Bracken Road from Hopkins’ 1947: Suite For Solo Piano And Orchestra being released on Friday.
Sir Anthony said: “Music was my first desire, my first wish, I’ve been composing music all my life.
“Some of these pieces have lived with me for decades and I still find myself returning to them.
“My whole life is a dream.
“Signing with Decca is the honour of a lifetime.
“It has been a true privilege to collaborate with the distinguished Philharmonia Orchestra and the virtuoso soloists, cellist Gregorio Nieto and classical pianist Sergio Tiempo.
“My deepest gratitude and respect go to Maestro Gustavo Dudamel, whose artistry is an integral part of this musical journey.
“With the graceful precision of his baton, he transformed each note with profound and indelible meaning, creating a pictorial landscape that invites the listener to feel and imagine something uniquely personal.”
Sir Anthony’s music is performed by Grammy Award-winning conductor Gustavo Dudamel with the Philharmonia Orchestra, and will reflect on his life growing up in Wales and his family.
The Port Talbot-born star has composed music since his childhood, and began playing the piano at the age of four.
The first single, Bracken Road, is inspired by his childhood memories of Margam in south Wales, and the streets, meadows, farmland and mountains that surrounded his family home in the 1940s, with Sir Anthony composing the music in 1963 when he was a young actor at the Liverpool Playhouse.
President of Decca, Laura Monks, said: “It is such a privilege to have the great Sir Anthony Hopkins join Decca Classics.
“His depth of talent and classical music knowledge, honed over a lifetime, is a joy to celebrate with this new album.
“Hearing his incredible compositions come to life at the recording sessions in London with Gustavo Dudamel and the Philharmonia Orchestra was a once in a lifetime experience that we are excited to bring to the world.”
Sir Anthony continues to pay tribute to Wales on another of the album’s tracks, My Fatherland, a piece he said he wrote to “honour my humble beginnings” adding “I am the son of my father, the baker”.
Other compositions on the album draw on memories of Port Talbot, childhood visits with his grandfather, the cinema that first caught his imagination, and the people closest to him.
Sir Anthony’s portrayal of cannibalistic killer Hannibal Lecter in The Silence Of The Lambs won him the leading actor gong at the 1992 Oscars.
He went on to star in The Silence Of The Lambs sequel Hannibal (2001) and its prequel Red Dragon (2002).
The actor won a second Oscar in 2020 for his role in Florian Zeller’s The Father which also starred Olivia Colman.
Life Is A Dream will be released on August 21.
