| Rebecca | |
|---|---|
&sq=Facebook&lang=en&file=File:RebeccaInVienna.jpg) Poster of Rebecca | |
| Music | Sylvester Levay |
| Lyrics | Michael Kunze (German lyrics and English lyrics) Christopher Hampton (English lyrics) |
| Book | Michael Kunze (German book and English book) Christopher Hampton (English book) |
| Setting | Cornwall |
| Basis | Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier |
| Premiere | 28 September 2006: Raimund Theater, Vienna |
| Productions | 2006 Vienna 2008 Tokyo 2008 Finland 2013 Korea Other European productions 2023 London |
| Awards | 5 Annual Musical Awards (2013, Korea) |
Rebecca is a musical adaptation of the 1938 novel of the same name by Daphne du Maurier. It was composed by Sylvester Levay with German book and lyrics by Michael Kunze. The plot, which adheres closely to the original novel, revolves around wealthy Maxim DeWinter, his naïve new wife, called "I" ("Ich" in the German version), and Mrs. Danvers, the manipulative housekeeper of DeWinter's Cornish estate Manderley. Mrs. Danvers resents the new wife's intrusion and persuades her that she is an unworthy replacement for DeWinter's first wife, the glamorous and mysterious Rebecca, who perished in a drowning accident. The new Mrs. DeWinter struggles to find her identity and take control of her life among the shadows left by Rebecca.
The musical premiered on 28 September 2006 at the Raimund Theater in Vienna, Austria, where it ran for three years. Subsequent productions have been mounted in Finland, Korea, Japan and elsewhere in Europe. The first English-language production, in a translation by Christopher Hampton and Kunze, began on 4 September and ended on 18 November 2023 at the Charing Cross Theatre in London.