The Sound Of Music

Georg Von Trapp's 130th birthday was yesterday. So close to mine! >.<

So yesterday, I watched the Sound Of Music on ABC Family (which is TERRIBLE with the commercials btw). And I came to the realization that it is my favorite musical xD I haven't seen that movie in a while and it was just awesome to remember the songs and say things like "I remember this part!" and predict lines and such. It was great.

I remember learning in the fifth grade that the Sound Of Music was based on a true story. So about a half hour ago, I looked up the von Trapp family and discovered that the Sound Of Music is so loosely based on the true life of the von Trapp family that its as if it's a whole different story. Here are some interesting things I found out (found on the http://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2005/winter/von-trapps.html website):

• Maria came to the von Trapp family in 1926 as a tutor for one of the children, Maria, who was recovering from scarlet fever, not as governess to all the children.
• Maria and Georg married in 1927, 11 years before the family left Austria, not right before the Nazi takeover of Austria.
• Maria did not marry Georg von Trapp because she was in love with him. As she said in her autobiography Maria, she fell in love with the children at first sight, not their father. When he asked her to marry him, she was not sure if she should abandon her religious calling but was advised by the nuns to do God's will and marry Georg. "I really and truly was not in love. I liked him but didn't love him. However, I loved the children, so in a way I really married the children. . . . [B]y and by I learned to love him more than I have ever loved before or after."
• There were 10, not 7 von Trapp children. (Janell - 7 were with Georg's first wife and 3 were with Georg's second wife Maria).
• The names, ages, and sexes of the children were changed. (Janell - I find this interesting).
• The family was musically inclined before Maria arrived, but she did teach them to sing madrigals. (Janell - Madrigals are songs unaccompanied by musical instruments and sung with a small number of voices. (Don't believe me? Look it up :3))
• Georg, far from being the detached, cold-blooded patriarch of the family who disapproved of music, as portrayed in the first half of The Sound of Music, was actually a gentle, warmhearted parent who enjoyed musical activities with his family. While this change in his character might have made for a better story in emphasizing Maria's healing effect on the von Trapps, it distressed his family greatly.
• The family did not secretly escape over the Alps to freedom in Switzerland, carrying their suitcases and musical instruments. As daughter Maria said in a 2003 interview printed in Opera News, "We did tell people that we were going to America to sing. And we did not climb over mountains with all our heavy suitcases and instruments. We left by train, pretending nothing."
• The von Trapps traveled to Italy, not Switzerland. Georg was born in Zadar (now in Croatia), which at that time was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Zadar became part of Italy in 1920, and Georg was thus an Italian citizen, and his wife and children as well. The family had a contract with an American booking agent when they left Austria. They contacted the agent from Italy and requested fare to America.
• Instead of the fictional Max Detweiler, pushy music promoter, the von Trapps' priest, the Reverend Franz Wasner, acted as their musical director for over 20 years.
• Though she was a caring and loving person, Maria wasn't always as sweet as the fictional Maria. She tended to erupt in angry outbursts consisting of yelling, throwing things, and slamming doors. Her feelings would immediately be relieved and good humor restored, while other family members, particularly her husband, found it less easy to recover. In her 2003 interview, the younger Maria confirmed that her stepmother "had a terrible temper. . . . And from one moment to the next, you didn't know what hit her. We were not used to this. But we took it like a thunderstorm that would pass, because the next minute she could be very nice."

All of this was just so interesting to discover! I invite you to read about them, their story is so interesting! Okay, I know I keep using that word but that word describes their story precisely.

I was a little bit disappointed that the Sound Of Music portrayed the lives of the real von Trapp family so inaccurately. But independent of the real von Trapp family's history, it is an excellent musical. The movie was released in 1965, and it is still revered today. 45 years later! And though in the opinion of Johannes von Trapp , one of the children, the "'Sound of Music' simplifies everything," it did speak to some real issues. For example, the song I Have Confidence speaks about having confidence in oneself even when faced with a challenge. Sixteen Going on Seventeen gives insight on love. The reprise to the song gives wise words of wisdom. Climb Every Mountain speaks about always following one's dream. Something Good is just an awesome love song. And the history of the time period, though inaccurate with the 1960s hairstyles and costumes, is not completely ignored. It is acknowledged that the Nazis were taking over Austria and that was a significant part of one theme in the musical. The theme of following one's heart and adhering to God's will and what is right. I am so defensive of this musical. Though flawed, it was absolutely beautiful. But I do look forward to eventually reading Maria von Trapp (the mother)'s book The Story of the Trapp Family Singers. I want to know about their history and their experiences. It is amazing to see how unlike their story is to the characters and plot of the Sound Of Music. Again, I invite you to read a snippet of their history at http://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2005/winter/von-trapps.html.

Auf Wiedersehen Adieu!