Paris — Composer Alexandre Desplat has two Oscars under his belt and has been nominated for eight more for his scores for such films as "The Shape of Water", "The Queen" and "The King's Speech".

But none of the music he has written for dozens of Hollywood movies from the Harry Potter films to "Girl with a Pearl Earring" comes from such a personal place as his latest work, which will get its French premiere this weekend.

The story of "Silence", which is adapted from a short story by the Nobel prize-winning Japanese novelist Yasunari Kawabata about a paralyzed writer who can no longer write or speak, mirrors that of his wife, the star violinist Solrey, whose concert career was ended by brain surgery.

A child prodigy, Solrey -- whose real name is Dominique Lemonnier -- lost the power in her left arm after the operation in 2010.

Despite battling for five years to try to perform again, Solrey finally had to give up.

"In spite of all the suffering and her extremely hard work with two fingers, Solrey decided three years ago to put her violin back in its case," Desplat, 57, told AFP in his hometown Paris.

"However, it will be heard in the show with recorded improvisations," he said.

The opera, Desplat's first, was written by the couple together as "an act of resilience", he said, with Solrey also directing. — AFP