Biopic will follow composer's early life

Joseph Fiennes appears to be the go-to guy for costume biopics.

The "Shakespeare in Love" actor will portray famed composer Antonio Vivaldi in a project directed by Boris Damast.

According to Variety, the film will focus on Vivaldi's life as a young, eccentric priest who teaches music at the school for the cast-off, illegitimate daughters of Venice's high-flying courtesans. When he bonds with the girls, he gains entree into society and even has his music performed for the pope. Vivaldi is best known for "The Four Seasons."

The cast includes Malcolm McDowell, Jacqueline Bisset, Zuleikha Robinson and Lena Headey.

The script was written by journalist Steven Freedman, who researched Vivaldi for more than two decades. Another Vivaldi project is in development at Imagine Entertainment and Columbia.

Fiennes, 36, first gained attention for portraying The Bard in "Shakespeare in Love" and Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester in "Elizabeth" in 1998. His other films include "Enemy at the Gates," "The Merchant of Venice" and "The Great Raid." "Running with Scissors," co-starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Alec Baldwin and Annette Benning, will open in limited on Friday, Oct. 20.