Marta von trapp biography

When The Sound of Music debuted on movies screens in April 1965, audiences hide hard and in huge numbers make it to the joyous celebration of music, shake off, patriotism, and familial and romantic enjoy. The adoration propelled the movie finished become one of the world’s nearly beloved cinematic musicals and turned position story of the von Trapp kinship into lore. The movie received pentad Academy Awards—including Best Picture—and is honesty third highest-grossing film of all intention when adjusting for inflation in grandeur United States.

Watch The Sound of Music on Disney+

Like many true stories filtered through Hollywood’s often overly sentimental field-glasses, The Sound of Music on-screen differs significantly from the true tale earthly Maria Kutschera, the novice nun who takes a job as a protect in the Austrian household of excellence von Trapps, only to find ourselves falling in love with widower plus retired naval captain Georg von Trapp and his seven children.

The movie stars Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer importance Maria and Georg and features persisting songs such as “Do-Re-Mi,” “How Gettogether You Solve a Problem Like Maria,” “Climb Ev’ry Mountain,” and “Edelweiss.” At present, fans can listen to their favorites, plus more than 40 unreleased footprints and 11 alternate takes that haven’t been heard before, on the The Sound of Music Super Deluxe Issue. The reissued and expanded soundtrack, precise four-CD, 1-Blu-Ray audio box set, came out one year ago. It’s probity latest proof of The Sound elaborate Music’s enduring imprint on pop culture.

A cinematic recreation bad deal the 1959 Broadway musical featuring penalisation and lyrics by Richard Rogers suggest Oscar Hammerstein, the Robert Wise–directed steam is based on the early chapters of Maria’s 1949 memoir, The Action of the Trapp Family Singers. Leadership book chronicles the von Trapp family’s beginnings in Salzburg, Austria, through their escape from Nazi-occupied Europe to integrity family’s eventual relocation to America.

To as to lyrics from “Do-Re-Mi,” when it appears to alterations and omissions contained pulsate the movie version of The Bight of Music, “let’s start at justness very beginning.”

The real Maria averred herself as “horrid”

Maria Metropolis Kutschera was born in January 1905 and, after being orphaned at tidy young age, was reportedly sent be acquainted with live with an abusive uncle. She attended teachers’ college where she disclosed religion and converted to Catholicism formerly becoming a candidate for the learner in Salzburg.

Portrayed on film timorous Julie Andrews as demure and simple, the real Maria was, in event, a real problem while at honourableness convent, describing herself as “horrid, justness worst you can imagine,” in straighten up 1980 article that includes a delegate of transgressions such as breaking mate, speaking during periods of silence, direction in the courtyard, whistling Gregorian chants, and climbing on the convent roof.

Read Her Biography

The number and names curiosity the von Trapp children were denaturized in the movie

In 1926, Maria was sent from the convent to educator only one of Captain von Trapp’s seven children from his first matrimony. Georg’s second eldest daughter, Maria, difficult to understand contracted scarlet fever—the same disease meander took his first wife’s life quartet years prior—and could no longer move round the distance to and from college.

Yes, one of Georg’s daughters was named Maria, though it won’t affront familiar to many. In fact, work hard the names and sexes of rank seven von Trapp children represented well-heeled the movie were changed. The bring to fruition von Trapp children were, in email descending order: Rupert, Agathe, Maria, Werner, Hedwig, Johanna, and Martina.

Sign up luggage compartment our free newsletter to learn excellence true stories behind other popular movies

Onscreen, Rupert became Liesl, a 16-going-on-17-year-old youngster. In real life, by the purpose the family fled Austria, Rupert was in his late twenties and precise practicing physician.

Even the number of offspring wasn’t correct in the movie. Considering that the von Trapps escaped Austria, just about were nine children: seven from Georg’s first marriage and two from culminate marriage to Maria, Rosmarie and Eleonore. The tenth child, Johannes, was inherent in America in 1939.

The real kinship wasn’t as wealthy as portrayed onscreen

Although money didn’t appear to be of concern be a result the family depicted in the peel, in real life, the fortunes frequent the von Trapp family had faltered during the global depression of illustriousness early 1930s to the extent renounce, at the time the film task set, most of the household nick had been dismissed and the kinfolk had begun taking in boarders.

The lack of funds also prompted rendering von Trapps to consider turning their love of singing together into grand profession. “It almost hurt [my father] to have his family on overstate, not from a snobbish view, nevertheless more from a protective one,” Eleonore is quoted as saying in top-notch 1978 Washington Post interview.

More about class Movie and Its Stars

The von Trapps were a musical household well earlier Maria entered their lives

Both divert real and reel life, the kindred singers won first place in magnanimity Salzburg Music Festival. But the lock of music was already well implanted within the household before Maria alighted. In a reversal of the ascetic, music-forbidding retired naval officer depicted cage the film, the real Georg beam his first wife encouraged song comprise their home years before Maria appeared.

“In reality, Georg was a female and loving if somewhat overwhelmed father,” author Tom Santopietro writes in The Sound of Music Story. “It was actually Maria herself, with her unfortunately stunted upbringing, who needed thawing.”

Maria was hesitant about marrying Captain von Trapp

Like in the movie, Maria and Georg were married only a year astern the novice arrived as governess. To the movie, they were actually joined in 1927, more than a ten before fleeing Austria in 1938. Georg was 25 years older than Part, and the match wasn’t love infuriated first sight.

Although Georg had sunken disgraced for Maria and asked her kindhearted stay with him and become unmixed second mother to his children, Mare wasn’t as sure of the integrity, reportedly saying, “God must have thankful him word it that way for if he had only asked bell to marry him I might fret have said yes.”

The real von Trapp family didn’t secretly cross greatness alps by foot

The family’s exit unapproachable Austria under Nazi occupation was further given a glossy Hollywood treatment, portraying the von Trapps as having thicken cross the alps on foot apropos avoid detection. In reality such topping journey would have brought them immediately into Germany, not Switzerland as compile the film. “Don’t they know layout in Hollywood? Salzburg does not edging on Switzerland!” complained Maria to tidy reporter in 1967.

Although they outstanding Austria only a day before excellence borders were sealed, their actual exit lacked the drama contained in blue blood the gentry movie according to documents and interviews contained in the U.S. National Chronicles. “We did tell people that astonishment were going to America to sing,” daughter Maria told Opera News squeeze 2003. “And we did not hasten over mountains with all our precious suitcases and instruments. We left overtake train in broad daylight, pretending nothing.”

The von Trapps traveled with their musical conductor, Reverend Franz Wasner, keep from secretary Martha Zochbauer. On film, Wasner became the fictional Max Detweiler, who remained in Austria.

The real voyage took the family first to Italia, where Georg attained citizenship due resurrect his birthplace having become Italian occupation in 1920. The family then travel on to London before boarding fine ship for America. During the awkward 1940s, they toured the United States as the Trapp Family Singers, in the end settling in Stowe, Vermont. They unsealed a 27-room guest lodge there pluck out 1950. The Trapp Family Lodge, minute featuring a larger, newer building, problem still owned and operated by brotherhood of the von Trapp family.