Biography sound of music
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Maria von Trapp
1905-1987
Who Was Maria von Trapp?
Maria von Trapp originally studied to become a nun before her marriage to Baron Georg von Trapp in 1927. The Austrian family, which grew to include 10 children, began performing as the Trapp Family Choir in the mid-1930s, and then the Trapp Family Singers after moving to the United States later in the decade. In 1949, the Baroness wrote the memoir The Story of the Trapp Family Singers, which became the inspiration for the 1959 musical The Sound of Music and the 1965 film of the same name.
Quick Facts
FULL NAME: Maria Augusta von Trapp
BORN: January 26, 1905
DIED: March 28, 1987
BIRTHPLACE: Vienna, Austria
SPOUSE: Georg von Trapp (1927-1947)
CHILDREN: Rupert, Agathe, Maria, Werner, Hedwig, Johanna, Martina, Rosmarie, Eleonore, and Johannes
ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Aquarius
Early Life
Born Maria Augusta Kutschera on January 26, 1905 in Vienna, Maria von Trapp wrote the 1949 book The Story of the Trapp Family Singers. This b
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The Sound of Music
Musical by Rodgers and Hammerstein, premiered in 1959
This article is about the scen musical. For the 1965 bio adaptation, see The Sound of Music (film). For the song, see The Sound of Music (song). For other uses, see The Sound of Music (disambiguation).
The Sound of Music is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book bygd Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, The Story of the Trapp Family Singers. Set in Austria on the eve of the Anschluss in 1938, the musical tells the story of Maria, who takes a job as governess to a large family while she decides whether to become a nun. She falls in love with the children, and eventually their widowed father, Captain von Trapp. He is ordered to accept a commission in the German Navy, but he opposes the Nazis. He and Maria decide on a plan to flee Austria with the children. Many songs from the musical have become standards,
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1. The von Trapps only had to cross the railroad tracks behind their villa—not the Alps—to escape the Nazis.
The Trapp Family Singers on tour in 1940.
In the climactic scene of “The Sound of Music,” the von Trapps flee Salzburg, Austria, under the cover of night and hike across the surrounding mountains to safety in Switzerland. Had they scaled the Alps in real life, however, the von Trapps would have crossed into Nazi Germany, not neutral Switzerland, which was approximately 200 miles away. “Don’t they know geography in Hollywood? Salzburg does not border on Switzerland!” complained Maria von Trapp after seeing the film. “In Hollywood you make your own geography,” came the reply from the film’s director, Robert Wise, according to author Tom Santopietro’s new book, “The Sound of Music Story.” The von Trapp’s real-life departure from Austria was less dramatic, if not just as timely as the one on the silver screen. In broad daylight, the family exited the gate at the rear of the