Shanghai: The German Original Musical Concert of 'Rebecca'

From the silver screen to the stage, a novel creates two classics. In 1940, after moving to the United States, suspense master Hitchcock’s first film, ‘Rebecca,’ was released and swept 11 Oscar nominations the following year, ultimately winning the Best Picture and Best Cinematography for a black-and-white film. This was Hitchcock’s first and only film to win an Oscar. The film ‘Rebecca’ is adapted from Daphne du Maurier’s best-selling suspense novel of the same name. The masterful use of film techniques and the creation of a suspenseful atmosphere have made the gloomy and oppressive Manderley estate, the desolate buildings, and the ghost-like housekeeper iconic scenes in film history.

Fifty years later, playwright Michael Kunze reread the suspense novel he had read in his youth and decided to adapt it into a musical. For this, he traveled to the UK to find Daphne du Maurier’s son, Christian Browning, hoping to obtain authorization for the musical adaptation. Prior to this, Browning had turned down many other musical playwrights. However, after watching the musical ‘Elisabeth,’ also co-created by Michael Kunze and Sylvester Levay, in Vienna, Browning was deeply moved and gladly granted the musical adaptation rights to the Austrian Vienna VBW Theater GmbH, entrusting the creation to this golden duo.