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.
Background As a teenager, Michael Kunze had read Daphne du Maurier's novel Rebecca. In the 1990s, he re-read it and decided that the story would make a good musical. He traveled to Cornwall, England, to find du Maurier's son in an attempt to obtain the rights to musicalize the work, which had been denied to other librettists. Attending a performance of Kunze's long-running 1992 musical Elisabeth in Vienna persuaded du Maurier's son that the novel would be in good hands with Kunze and his musical partner Sylvester Levay."Rebecca: Das Erfolgsmusical nach dem weltberühmten Roman von Daphne du Maurier". storyarchitekt.com (Michael Kunze's official site). Google Translation:
Writing the libretto took Kunze nearly two years, and Levay took another two years to compose the music. A 2003 demo recording in English was made, with Pia Douwes as Mrs. Danvers, Maike Boerdam as "I" and Uwe Kröger as Maxim de Winter."Rebecca: Workshop", CastAlbums.com. Retrieved 6 October 2012 Workshops were also presented in Essen and Vienna.
Kunze and Levay brought in American director Francesca Zambello and English set designer Peter J. Davison. In early 2005, they decided to launch the musical in Vienna, Austria, with the production company Vereinigte Bühnen Wien, which had previously produced Kunze's musicals Elisabeth, Tanz der Vampire (Dance of the Vampires), and Mozart!."Rebecca: musical sees world premiere in Vienna". www.wieninternational.at, 2006. Retrieved 5 February 2011
Synopsis Act I A young English woman, "I", dreams of her husband's family manor, Manderley, a burned ruin ("Ich hab geträumt von Manderley"). She reflects on the events that set Manderley's ruin into motion. In a hotel in Monte Carlo years earlier, in April 1926, she is employed as a traveling companion by a wealthy American, Mrs. Van Hopper ("Du wirst niemals eine Lady"). The widowed aristocrat Maxim de Winter arrives at the hotel; he initially treats the young woman coolly but later explains to her that his actual aversion was to Mrs. Van Hopper. As the two become increasingly friendly, the hotel guests speculate about the nature of their relationship, their differences in age and class, and Maxim's devotion to his late wife, Rebecca ("Er verlor unerwartet seine Frau, Rebecca"). In the hills near Monte Carlo, Maxim and the young woman share a kiss; she is distraught when Mrs. Van Hopper informs her that they will be returning to New York but resolves to find joy and strength in her memories of Maxim ("Zeit in einer Flasche"). Maxim witnesses her private outpouring of emotion, and he proposes marriage. Disregarding Mrs. Van Hopper's warnings that she cannot live up to her predecessor, she elopes with Maxim ("Zauberhaft natürlich").
As the servants of Manderley welcome Maxim and his bride from their honeymoon, they speculate about their new mistress and the cold greeting afforded to her by the haughty head housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers ("Die neue Mrs. de Winter"). While tending to Rebecca's orchids, Mrs. Danvers privately laments the loss of her beautiful, elegant and mysterious mistress ("Sie ergibt sich nicht"); when Mrs. de Winter accidentally intrudes upon her, Mrs. Danvers intimidates the young woman by showing her Rebecca's extensive social calendar. Mrs. de Winter's introduction to Maxim's sister Beatrice and brother-in-law Giles goes well ("Die lieben Verwandten"), but Mrs. Danvers provokes an argument between the newlyweds ("Bist du glücklich – Bist du böse"), who each reflect privately about how they are seeking solace in each other ("Hilf mir durch die Nacht"). At her house, Beatrice reflects on her affection for her brother and how he has changed in the past year ("Was ist nur los mit ihm"). Rebecca's cousin Jack Favell comes to Manderley as a guest; although he and Mrs. Danvers share a private understanding of Rebecca's inner life, his entitlement to Rebecca's possessions and insistence that she loved him upsets Mrs. Danvers ("Sie war gewohnt geliebt zu werden"). Upon encountering Favell, Mrs. de Winter is persuaded to keep the knowledge of his presence at Manderley from Maxim. In preparation for an upcoming masked ball, Mrs. Danvers suggests that Mrs. de Winter wear a ball gown in homage to a portrait of one of Maxim's ancestors; although her overt hostility to the young woman subsides, she continues to reverently describe Maxim's first wife and even her belongings ("Rebecca").
Ben, an intellectually disabled man, meets Mrs. de Winter in the Manderley boat house ("Sie's fort") and compares her favorably to Rebecca, describing her predecessor as vindictive and cruel. Upon learning that his wife is at the boathouse, Maxim flies into an inexplicable fury and expresses his anger that Rebecca's absence continues to cast a shadow over his marriage ("Gott, warum"). When Mrs. de Winter voices her insecurities to Frank Crawley, the manager of the estate and Maxim's best friend, he reassures her that she doesn't need to try to emulate Rebecca's social accomplishments ("Ehrlichkeit und vertrauen"). At the ball ("Der Ball von Manderley"), Mrs. Van Hopper performs ("I'm an American Woman"). As Mrs. de Winter changes into the ball gown suggested by Mrs. Danvers, she hopes that she will impress both the guests and Maxim ("Heut' nacht verzauber' ich die Welt"), but as she descends the staircase to the party, the guests look on in horror; the dress Mrs. de Winter is wearing is the same one Rebecca had worn at last year's ball. Maxim bursts into a rage, his bride flees the ball in tears, and Mrs. Danvers looks on malevolently.
Act II The following evening, Mrs. de Winter attempts to explain herself ("Und das, und das, und das"), only to be menaced by Mrs. Danvers ("Tu nicht, was sie empört!" ... "Nur ein schritt"). At the seaside, the people of Cornwall find the wreck of Rebecca's sailing boat with her body inside the cabin ("Strandgut"). Mrs. de Winter encounters Ben and a disheveled Maxim, who had gone to help the sailors; Maxim explains to his wife that Rebecca was a deceitful person who manipulated him into marriage and had multiple affairs. When Maxim confronted Rebecca about her incestuous affair with Jack Favell, an altercation ensued in which Maxim pushed Rebecca, causing her to suffer a concussion and die; in a panic, he took her body to the boat and scuttled it ("Kein Lächenln war je so kalt"). Maxim is suspected of having killed Rebecca, and his implausible alibi leads to an official investigation of his involvement in her murder. Mrs. de Winter comforts a terrified Beatrice, who remarks on her sister-in-law's strength and courage (Die Stärker Einer Frau). A newly confident Mrs. de Winter redecorates Manderley to her own tastes, brushing aside the furious comments of a shocked Mrs. Danvers ("Mrs. de Winter bin Ich").
At a preliminary hearing, Maxim responds poorly to a line of questioning by the local coroner. Mrs. de Winter faints, prompting Maxim and his supporters' return to Manderley. Jack Favell arrives in their wake and is welcomed into the library by Mrs. Danvers ("Eine Hand wäscht die andre"); he attempts to blackmail Maxim with a letter from Rebecca, expressing her love for Favell and fear of Maxim. Mrs. Danvers provides Rebecca's diary, which reveals that she had seen a doctor on the day she died. Favell speculates that Rebecca was pregnant with his child, and that Maxim killed her in a jealous rage. Mrs. de Winter travels to London to visit the doctor Rebecca had seen, while Maxim is ordered to stay at Manderley until the truth is ascertained. The servants and Mrs. Danvers comment on the situation ("Sie fuhr'n um acht"). Maxim receives a phone call from his wife, overheard by Mrs. Danvers; Mrs. de Winter explains that Rebecca was suffering from terminal cancer and likely provoked Maxim to murder her so she could avert the slow and painful death she dreaded.
Now cleared of all charges, Maxim meets his wife at the train station in Cornwall, and they reunite passionately ("Jenseits der Nacht"). As they approach Manderley, they see a red glow in the distance and realize that the manor has been set on fire by Mrs. Danvers to destroy the evidence against her. As the servants attempt to extinguish the blaze ("Manderley in Flammen"), Mrs. Danvers stands atop the grand staircase, holding Rebecca's nightgown and setting the handrails on fire. The de Winters arrive in time to help evacuate Manderley, but the house collapses and Mrs. Danvers perishes.
Mrs. de Winter walks dreamily in darkness, reflecting on how she has grown from her experiences ("Ich hab getraumt von Manderley" (reprise)); the shadows of Manderley now have faces, and her fears have vanished. Under a bright blue sky, Maxim holds his hand out to his wife, and they kiss.
Productions Vienna
Rebecca premiered at the Raimund Theater in Vienna, in German, in September 2006, "where it played to sold-out houses totaling more than three years". It was directed by Zambello and choreographed by Denni L. Sayers, with production design by Davison, costumes by Birgit Hutter and lighting by Andrew Voller. The cast starred Wietske van Tongeren as "Ich" ("I"), Uwe Kröger as Maxim and Susan Rigvava-Dumas as Mrs. Danvers."Gefeierte Welturaufführung für Rebecca" ("Acclaimed World Premiere of Rebecca"). ORF.at. 29 September 2006.Rebecca . MusicalVienna.at. Variety magazine considered the Vienna production a "dream of a show", adding: Michael Kunze and Sylvester Levay deliver a work every bit as compelling as their hit Elisabeth, the most successful German-language musical of all time, while Zambello's dazzling, cinematic production offers storytelling at its best, clearly defining the whirlpool of emotions experienced by the three tortured principal characters. ... Kunze's deft lyrics take us deep into the psyches of the never-named heroine (simply called "I"); moody, mercurial Maxim de Winter; obsessive Mrs. Danvers; and even the late Rebecca herself. Levay knows how to write tunes that jam in your head; he delivers the goods with Mrs. Danvers' haunting "Rebecca" and the anthem "The Power of a Woman in Love". ... Designer Peter J. Davison stunningly captures the atmosphere, from heady summer nights on the Riviera to the oppressive decay of Manderley.