The UK’s Embankment Films has launched global pre-sales on The King Of Covent Garden starring Anthony Hopkins as composer George Frideric Handel.
The film is billed as a celebration of the genius of the Baroque composer, who was born in what is modern-day Germany before moving to London in 1712. While living in the UK he composed his masterpiece Messiah in 1741, taking inspiration from a singer named Susannah, who is yet to be cast.
US filmmaker Andrew Levitas directs from a script by Tim Slover. US-based Dan Lupovitz and Kevan Van Thompson produce.
“The storytelling is hinged upon an unlikely pair, who meet each other at their lowest points, and together create a magnificent never-heard-before ‘sound for the people’: the groundbreaking masterpiece Messiah, the annual global bestseller for close to 300 years,” explained Levitas.
The King Of Covent Garden reunites Embankment with Hopkins following The Father, for which Hopkins was awarded his second Oscar.
Welsh operatic mezzo-soprano singer Katherine Jenkins is an executive producer, alongside Peter Touche.
The feature is aiming for an autumn 2025 release.
Embankment’s Tim Haslam notes the Hallelujah chorus from Messiah ”features in a plethora of iconic entertainment, from Baywatch to The Simpsons, from Runaway Bride to Scrooged. In excess of five million people have seen a performance of Messiah in The Royal Albert Hall alone. Throughout the US there are over 800 performances per year. Handel’s music has been performed at every coronation of a British monarch since King George II.”
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