Rebecca musical rehearsals have started
The rehearsals of the musical thriller Rebecca, the 2024 Szeged Open-Air Festival's own production, have started at the National Theatre of Szeged.
Preparations for the premiere of Rebecca began a month ago in Budapest. In Szeged, the crew is now rehearsing in the theater and soon at the Dóm Square stage. The play, based on Daphne du Maurier's novel Rebecca, is being staged for the second time in Hungary and for the first time in an open-air theater.
The romantic and at the same time haunting story made Daphne du Maurier a world-famous novelist and the most popular of her time. The plot follows a young woman – never named in the story – who meets Lord Maxim De Winter, whose wife Rebecca has mysteriously died. The two are attracted to each other and soon the young woman becomes the second Mrs. De Winter and moves with her husband to his country home in Manderley.
At first, her husband, and the housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers, watch her every thought, but she is haunted by the memory of the first Mrs. De Winter, who seems to be a constant presence in every object, every corner of the house, and in the thoughts of everyone who lives there.
The new mistress feels that Mrs. Danvers is watching her every move, and surrounds her with constant suspicion and malice. The situation worsens when Rebecca's drowned body is found and the circumstances of her death are re-examined.
According to director Attila Béres, Rebecca is no ordinary musical - at the heart of the show is a really deep, human story that is really about responsibility and facing sin. He added that composer Sylvester Lévay captured the mystery of the story very well.
Daphne du Maurier's novel has been adapted into several films, the most famous being Alfred Hitchcock's 1940 film starring Laurence Olivier and Joan Fontaine. The film was nominated for eleven Academy Awards in 1941 and won two - Best Picture and Best Cinematography.
The musical thriller by Michael Kunze and Sylvester Lévay will premiere on July 26 at the Szeged Open Air Festival on the Dóm Square stage and will be performed for four more nights. More info and tickets here
Photos: Szilvia Molnar / Szegedify
