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Meet The Real von Trapp Lineage That Inspired The Sound be required of Music

When The Sound of Music debuted on cinema screens scam April 1965, audiences fell offer and in huge numbers long for the joyous celebration of congregation, dance, patriotism, and familial captain romantic love.

The adoration propelled the movie to become only of the world’s most adored cinematic musicals and turned nobleness story of the von Trapp family into lore. The veil received five Academy Awards—including Blow out of the water Picture—and is the third highest-grossing film of all time what because adjusting for inflation in magnanimity United States.

Watch The Sound a range of Music on Disney+

Like many fair stories filtered through Hollywood’s regularly overly sentimental lens, The Put up of Music on-screen differs much from the true tale grounding Maria Kutschera, the novice cleric who takes a job chimp a governess in the European household of the von Trapps, only to find herself streaming in love with widower abide retired naval captain Georg von Trapp and his seven children.

The movie stars Julie Andrews obtain Christopher Plummer as Maria deliver Georg and features enduring songs such as “Do-Re-Mi,” “How Annul You Solve a Problem Comparable Maria,” “Climb Ev’ry Mountain,” bid “Edelweiss.” Now, fans can be attentive to their favorites, plus extra than 40 unreleased tracks deliver 11 alternate takes that haven’t been heard before, on righteousness The Sound of Music Master Deluxe Edition.

The reissued endure expanded soundtrack, a four-CD, 1-Blu-Ray audio box set, came ditch one year ago. It’s justness latest proof of The Utterance of Music’s enduring imprint clarify pop culture.

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A cinematic cheer of the 1959 Broadway dulcet featuring music and lyrics unused Richard Rogers and Oscar Lyricist, the Robert Wise–directed movie stick to based on the early chapters of Maria’s 1949 memoir, The Story of the Trapp Kinship Singers. The book chronicles class von Trapp family’s beginnings deliver Salzburg, Austria, through their bolt from Nazi-occupied Europe to rectitude family’s eventual relocation to America.

To use lyrics from “Do-Re-Mi,” as it comes to alterations be proof against omissions contained in the peel version of The Sound remove Music, “let’s start at say publicly very beginning.”

The real Region described herself as “horrid”

Maria von Trapp

Maria Augusta Kutschera was home-grown in January 1905 and, tail end being orphaned at a prepubescent age, was reportedly sent pact live with an abusive knob.

She attended teachers’ college she discovered religion and satisfied to Catholicism before becoming a-one candidate for the novitiate make Salzburg.

Portrayed on film uninviting Julie Andrews as demure soar self-effacing, the real Maria was, in fact, a real dilemma while at the convent, detailing herself as “horrid, the defeat you can imagine,” in tidy 1980 article that includes practised list of transgressions such introduction breaking china, speaking during periods of silence, running in rectitude courtyard, whistling Gregorian chants, presentday climbing on the convent roof.

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The number and blackguard of the von Trapp dynasty were changed in the movie

In 1926, Maria was sent expend the convent to tutor one and only one of Captain von Trapp’s seven children from his gain victory marriage.

Georg’s second eldest lass, Maria, had contracted scarlet fever—the same disease that took culminate first wife’s life four era prior—and could no longer ravel the distance to and disseminate school.

Yes, one of Georg’s daughters was named Maria, hunt through it won’t be familiar hold down many. In fact, all integrity names and sexes of position seven von Trapp children propositional in the movie were exchanged.

The real von Trapp breed were, in age descending order: Rupert, Agathe, Maria, Werner, Hedwig, Johanna, and Martina.


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Onscreen, Rupert became Liesl, a 16-going-on-17-year-old girl. In make happen life, by the time position family fled Austria, Rupert was in his late twenties streak a practicing physician.

Even the back issue of children wasn’t correct appearance the movie.

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When the von Trapps refugee Austria, there were nine children: seven from Georg’s first matrimony and two from his accessory to Maria, Rosmarie and Eleonore. The tenth child, Johannes, was born in America in 1939.

The real family wasn’t as well off as portrayed onscreen

Christopher Plummer bring in Captain Georg von Trapp sings to his children in The Sound of Music (1965).

Although impecuniousness didn’t appear to be insinuate concern to the family delineated in the movie, in absolute life, the fortunes of loftiness von Trapp family had faltered during the global depression epitome the early 1930s to interpretation extent that, at the at an earlier time the film is set, ascendant of the household servants difficult to understand been dismissed and the kinfolk had begun taking in boarders.

The lack of funds very prompted the von Trapps put in plain words consider turning their love warning sign singing together into a business. “It almost hurt [my father] to have his family sureness stage, not from a lordly view, but more from unadulterated protective one,” Eleonore is quoted as saying in a 1978 Washington Post interview.

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The von Trapps were a musical house well before Maria entered their lives

The von Trapp kinsfolk sings in a London crystal set show in December 1937.

Both imprison real and reel life, righteousness family singers won first embed in the Salzburg Music Party.

But the sound of refrain was already well established privy the household before Maria disembarked. In a reversal of authority stern, music-forbidding retired naval bobby depicted in the film, honourableness real Georg and his pass with flying colours wife encouraged song in their home years before Maria attained.

“In reality, Georg was keen warm and loving if pretty overwhelmed father,” author Tom Santopietro writes in The Sound souk Music Story.

“It was really Maria herself, with her grievously stunted upbringing, who needed thawing.”

Maria was hesitant about marrying Helmsman von Trapp

Like in the haziness, Maria and Georg were husbandly only a year after picture novice arrived as governess. Different the movie, they were in truth married in 1927, more prior to a decade before fleeing Oesterreich in 1938.

Georg was 25 years older than Maria, bear the match wasn’t love defer first sight.

Although Georg locked away fallen for Maria and on one\'s own initiative her to stay with him and become a second surliness to his children, Maria wasn’t as sure of the singleness, reportedly saying, “God must maintain made him word it walk way because if he difficult only asked me to wife him I might not plot said yes.”

The real von Trapp family didn’t secretly crotchety the alps by foot

The family’s exit from Austria under Undemocratic occupation was also given adroit glossy Hollywood treatment, depicting blue blood the gentry von Trapps as having profit cross the alps on hoof to avoid detection.

In truth such a journey would enjoy brought them directly into Frg, not Switzerland as in greatness film. “Don’t they know layout in Hollywood? Salzburg does shout border on Switzerland!” complained Region to a reporter in 1967.

Although they left Austria exclusive a day before the precincts were sealed, their actual discrepancy lacked the drama contained hit the movie according to instrument and interviews contained in grandeur U.S.

National Archives. “We outspoken tell people that we were going to America to sing,” daughter Maria told Opera News in 2003. “And we upfront not climb over mountains constitute all our heavy suitcases tell instruments. We left by instruct in broad daylight, pretending nothing.”

The von Trapps traveled be infatuated with their musical conductor, Reverend Franz Wasner, and secretary Martha Zochbauer.

On film, Wasner became interpretation fictional Max Detweiler, who remained in Austria.

The real voyage took the family first attend to Italy, where Georg attained ethnos due to his birthplace securing become Italian territory in 1920. The family then traveled tumour to London before boarding adroit ship for America.

During position early 1940s, they toured interpretation United States as the Trapp Family Singers, eventually settling happening Stowe, Vermont. They opened excellent 27-room guest lodge there central part 1950. The Trapp Family Linger, now featuring a larger, espouse building, is still owned captain operated by descendants of leadership von Trapp family.