Sir Anthony Hopkins to release debut album inspired by his childhood

Sir Anthony Hopkins to release debut album inspired by his childhoodImage source, PA MediaImage caption, The Silence of the Lambs star has composed music since his childhoodByHolly Harrison BBC WalesPublished10 July 2026, 17:06 BSTUpdated 2 minutes agoSir Anthony Hopkins will release his first album next month featuring a collection of classical pieces he has worked on for six decades.The Oscar-winning actor said he had been composing music "all my life", and that "music was my first desire, my first wish".The first single from the 88-year-old's album, titled Life Is A Dream, was released on Friday, and was inspired by his childhood memories of Margam in south Wales.The Port Talbot-born star, who won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs, has written his own music since childhood, and began playing the piano at the age of four.Image source, PA MediaImage caption, Life Is A Dream will be released on 21 AugustThe single, Bracken Road from Hopkins' 1947: Suite For Solo Piano And Orchestra, was influenced by the streets, meadows, farmland and mountains that surrounded the star's family home in the 1940s.Sir Anthony composed the music in 1963 when he was a young actor at the Liverpool Playhouse."Some of these pieces have lived with me for decades and I still find myself returning to them," Sir Anthony said. "My whole life is a dream," he added, describing signing with the Decca Classics record label as "the honour of a lifetime".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.He said: "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,...