Anthony Hopkins Releases Debut Album at Age 88

Sir Anthony Hopkins, 88, has released his debut album, "Life Is a Dream," a collection of 12 compositions he wrote over the course of six decades. The album, conducted by Gustavo Dudamel and performed by the Philharmonia Orchestra, was recorded at London's Alexandra Palace in April and will be released by Decca Records on August 21.

"My first love, or vocation really, is music," Hopkins said, recalling that he began playing piano at age 4 and wrote his first composition, a waltz, in 1960 at age 22.

The actor, best known for roles including Hannibal Lecter and C.S. Lewis in "Shadowlands," said composing offers him more freedom than acting. "I find more freedom with music," he said. "Music for me is a freewheeling kind of art form."

Hopkins said the album's title shares its name with the Pedro Calderón de la Barca play and reflects memories of his childhood in Wales and his adolescent years. "There is the knowledge that life is one long goodbye. From the moment we're born, we begin to die," he said, before laughing at the observation.

The first single, "1947: Suite for Solo Piano and Orchestra: II. Bracken Road," is part of a three-part suite about a summer in South Wales. Another track, "Stella Aria," is named after his wife, director and actor Stella Hopkins.

Hopkins credited actor Bradley Cooper with connecting him to Dudamel after Cooper heard one of his compositions performed by the Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. Dudamel described Hopkins' music as carrying "the heart of a storyteller and the instincts of a poet."

Hopkins said he now hopes to perform live, with Carnegie Hall at the top of his list, recalling his mother once telling him, "You play at Carnegie Hall one day."