LONDON— Two-time Academy Award winner Anthony Hopkins has signed a recording contract with Decca Classics as a composer at the age of 88, marking a new milestone in a lifelong musical career that predates his success as an actor.
The Welsh-born actor released his first classical single, "Bracken Road," on July 10 ahead of the Aug. 21 release of his orchestral album, Life is a Dream, according to Decca Classics. The album brings together original compositions written over more than six decades and performed by the Philharmonia Orchestra under Grammy-winning conductor Gustavo Dudamel.
"Music was my first desire, my first wish," Hopkins said in a statement issued by the label. "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."
Hopkins, best known for his Oscar-winning performances in The Silence of the Lambs and The Father, began playing the piano at the age of four and wrote music for local theatrical productions as a teenager in Wales. According to Decca, the new album reflects personal memories, family experiences and his connection to his native country.
The opening single, "Bracken Road," was originally composed in 1963 during Hopkins' early years as a young actor. Other works on the album include "My Fatherland," inspired by Welsh musical traditions, alongside orchestral pieces developed across much of his adult life.
Dudamel said Hopkins' compositions reveal the same emotional qualities that have characterized his acting career. Decca Classics President Laura Monks described the signing as an opportunity to present Hopkins' classical compositions to a wider international audience, praising both his musical knowledge and decades-long commitment to composition.
Although the Decca agreement represents Hopkins' first recording project with the label, it is not his first public work as a composer. Dutch violinist and conductor André Rieu previously recorded Hopkins' waltz "And the Waltz Goes On," while the actor released the album Composer in 2012 and has seen several of his works performed in concert.
Decca Classics said Life is a Dream will be released worldwide on Aug. 21, with the Philharmonia Orchestra, Dudamel and featured soloists Gregorio Nieto and Sergio Tiempo performing the collection of original orchestral works.
