Antony Hopkins and Adoption

Biography

(Note: this is not the same man as the Welsh actor, Sir Anthony Hopkins.)

Hopkins was born Antony Reynolds and adopted when he was three or four years old. After studying at the Royal College of Music, 1939-42, he began composing.

He is most famous for his incidental music, including film scores for The Pickwick Papers, Decameron Nights, Cast a Dark Shadow and Billy Budd, for 15 Shakespeare plays, and for The Golden Ass, Cupid and Psyche, The Oresteia, The Song of Roland, and Oedipus Rex. He also wrote two ballets and several full-scale works for children: A Time for Growing; Rich Man, Poor Man, Beggar Man, Saint; John and the Music Man and The Man from Tuscany, and other large works.

In addition to composing he presented the program Talking About Music on BBC Radio 3 for many years.

References

Who's Who, 1997 Hopkins, Antony. Beating Time. (London: M. Joseph, 1982) New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, edited by Stanley Sadie. 20 vols. (London: Macmillan, 1980)