The Sound of Music

Notes and Glossary

Notes

• The Nonnberg Abbey (Benedictine) in Salzburg was founded ad 714, and is the oldest religious house for women in the German-speaking world; current buildings are from the 16th century.
• Maria von Trapp was born Maria Augusta von Kutschera, January 25, 1905, on a train to Vienna. She grew up as a socialist and athiest. At college, a meeting with a Jesuit priest changed her life. So at age 19 she presented herself at Nonnberg as a candidate for the Novitiate. Living in a cloister took her away from the outdoors that she loved. In 1926 her physician advised her to leave the cloister for awhile. She was sent as a tutor to one of the von Trapp children (Maria) who was bedridden with scarlet fever. She and Georg von Trapp were married November 26, 1927. They founded the family choir in early 1930s. After the Anschluss they fled Austria in 1938 to Italy, then to the United States. She died March 28, 1987, Stowe, Vermont.
• Georg Ludwig Ritter von Trapp; born April 4, 1880, in Zara (Zadar), Croatia (then part of Hungary); father a naval captain; attended naval academy at Fiume (Rijeka); married Agathe Whitehead, 1910; commanded U-boat “U6”; sank French sub Leon Gambetta, among many other allied ships; promoted Korvettenkapitän (Lieutenant Commander) in 1918; in recognition of his wartime service, he was permitted to put “von” in his name, and given the hereditary title Ritter (knight, but often translated as baron); Agathe died in 1924 of scarlet fever, having borne him 7 children; left Austria 1938. died May 30, 1947, Stowe, Vermont. Because he was born in Zara, which was annexed to Italy between World War I and World War II, he was granted Italian citizenship, so that when he left Austria, he could enter Italy as an Italian citizen.
• Monsignor Franz Wasner became the family chaplain and musical director, 1935; he left Austria with them. The character of Max is loosely based on him.
• If Georg had married the character represented by Elsa in the play and movie, she would have shipped all the children off to boarding school. In contrast, the real Maria fell in love with the children, and only fell in love with Georg after they had been married for awhile.
• The original plan for this show was to use only songs sung by the Trapp family on their concert tours. Then Rodgers and Hammerstein were asked to write a song or two for the show. They thought that using Broadway tunes with Austrian folk songs would be like mixing oil and water, so it was decided to write entirely new songs and use no songs from their tours.
• A nun is a religious sister that lives in a cloister.  A sister that lives in a convent, is strictly speaking, not a nun.
• A woman who wishes to join a community of nuns is first accepted as a postulant, in which her vocation is tested. She is not under vows.  After a period of time, usually six months to two years, if she appears to have a vocation to the cloistered life, she becomes a novice, and receives a habit, which is usually slightly different from the habit of the professed. Her term as a novice lasts one or two years. At the end of that period, if she and the community determine that she may have a voication to the religious life, she takes temporary vows for one to three years, which are renewable up to six years. At the end of this time, if she is found suitable, and she is still determined to remain in the order, she takes solemn, permanent vows, and is now a full, professed member of the community. Benedictine nuns take vows of stability (that is, to remain in one monastic community), obedience (to the abbess or prioress), and conversion of life (that is, poverty and celebacy).

Trapp Children

Children of Georg & Agathe

• Rupert Georg (1911-1992) practiced as a medical doctor until the mid-80’s and died at the age of 80. He had six children. (He is portrayed as Friedrich in the show and film.)
• Agathe Johanna Erwina Gobertina (1913-2010) lived near Baltimore, Maryland, and ran a kindergarten. (She is portrayed as Liesl in the show and film. The birth order of Liesl and Friedrich is thus reversed from the real Trapp children.)
• Maria Franziska [Maria Agatha Franziska Gobertina von Trapp] (1914-2014) worked for 27 years as a singer and missionary work in New Guinea. She went back to Salzburg from time to time, and every time she would not miss the “Sound of Music Tour”. In 1926, she was too ill to attend school, so her father hired Maria von Kutschera from the Nonnberg Abbey to be her tutor. (She is portrayed as Louisa in the show and film.)
• Werner (1915-2007) became a farmer and had six children; lived in Waitsfield, Vermont. (He is portrayed as Kurt in the show and film.)
• Hedwig [Hedwig Maria Adolphine Gobertina] (1917-1972) worked at the lodge until her death. (She is portrayed as Brigitta in the show and film.)
• Johanna [Johanna Karolina Gobertina Barbara (Franziska)] (1919-1994) married in 1948 and left America to return to her homeland Austria. She lived in Vienna until her death and had six children. (She is portrayed as Marta in the show and film.)
• Martina (1921-1951) stayed with her family until she married in 1949. She died in childbirth.(She is portrayed as Gretl in the show and film.)

Children of Georg & Maria:

• Rosemarie (born 1928 or 1929 in Salzburg) worked as a singer and missionary in Papua New Guinea. Most recently lived in Pittsburgh.
• Eleonore (born 1931 in Salzburg) stopped singing in 1952, got married in 1954 and raised seven children.
• Johannes Georg (born 1939 in Philadelphia) graduated from Dartmouth, has a master’s degree in forestry (Yale) and is now president of the Trapp Family Lodge. He has two children. 

The family began touring in 1936, and that year performed at the Salzburg festival where they won a prize. They then began a European tour, and also came to the United States. They had to return to Austria when their visas expired. In 1938, after the Anschluss, they left Austria, openly, and by train, to Italy. After living in Holland for awhile, they returned to the United States in 1939, and applied for immigrant status. They began touring as the “Trapp Family Choir” and later the “Trapp Family Singers”. They stopped singing as a group in 1957.

In 1941, the Trapp family bought a large farm in Vermont, in a countryside very similar to the Austrian landscape near Salzburg that they missed. The house they lived in was called Cor Unum, which is Latin for “one heart”.

Glossary

Act I, Scene 1 - Nonnberg Abbey

• Ave is the usual Latin greeting on meeting, often translated “hail!”
• The preludium (*The numbering of the Psalms differs in Greek and Hebrew. Latin versions follow the Greek numbering; most English versions follow the Hebrew numbering.)

• Rex admirablis is the first stanza of the second cento of the hymn “Jesu, dulcis memoria” (“Jesus the very thought of thee”), attributed to St Bernard of Clairvaux. This cento is used for matins, the early morning service (today part of the office of readings), for the feast of the Name of Christ, which used to fall on the second Sunday after Christmas, or on January 2nd, if there was no such Sunday. In the Roman calendar in use today, the feast falls on January 3, unless that day is a Sunday. Anglicans used to observe this feast on August 7. Now both Anglicans and Lutherans observe it on January 1.
• The Angelus bell is a call to pray the Angelus, the incipit of a devotion commemorating the Incarnation; normally it is said daily at 6:00 a.m., noon, and 6:00 p.m. During Eastertide, the Angelus is replaced by Regina caeli, and neither prayer is said on Good Friday or Holy Saturday.
• Alleluia is the Greek and Latin form of Hallelujah, meaning “Praise ye the Lord.”

Act I, Scene 2 - A Mountainside near the Abbey - “The Sound of Music”

• In the film version, the order of scenes 1 and 2 are reversed; it seemed more appropriate to open with the majesty of the Austrian Alps.

Act I, Scene 3 - The Office of the Mother Abbess, the next morning (“How do you solve a problem like Maria?”)

• A prie-dieu is a type of prayer desk for one person, usually with a sloping shelf for books or hands. It is primarily intended for private devotional use, but may also be found in churches. [stage direction]
• A wimple is a head covering which is part of the traditional habit of nuns. In the middle ages, at times, it was considered unseemly for a woman to show her hair outside of the home, so most women wore wimples. This was gradually abandoned beginning in the 16th century. In the Bible, the King James Version refers to wimples in Isaiah 3:22, but the Hebrew word mitpachoth (מִטְפָּחוֹת) is better translated “kerchief”.
• Penitence is a feeling of regret or remorse for wrongdoing or sin.
• An abbey is a monastery governed by an abbot or abbess.
• A flibbertijibbet is a flighty or whimsical person, usually a young woman.
• A will-o’-the wisp, will-o’-wisp, or ignis fatuus (Medieval Latin: “foolish fire”) is an atmospheric ghost light seen by travelers at night, especially over bogs, swamps or marshes. The phenomenon is known by a variety of names, including “jack-o’-lantern”, “friar’s lantern”, “hinkypunk”, and “hobby lantern” in English folk belief.  In the United States, they are often called “spook-light”, “ghost-light”, or “orbs” by folklorists and paranormal enthusiasts. It resembles a flickering lamp and is said to recede if approached, drawing travelers from the safe paths.
• A whirling dervish is a Islamic esthetic who engages in a whirling dance as a kind of meditation.
• The Military Order of Maria Theresa (here misspelled as the Maria Teresa medal) was one of the many military honors Georg von Trapp received for his service in the Austro-Hungarian Navy in World War I, serving in the Adriatic. Under his command, his submarines sank 13 allied ships. (The honor is named for Empress Maria Theresa, who reigned 1745-1780, and was one of the most popular of Austro-Hungarian monarchs. After World War I, Austria and Hungary separated, and neither country then had a seacoast.) 

Act I, Scene 3 - “My Favorite Things”

• Strudel is a type of layered pastry, usually with a sweet filling, originating in the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
• Schnitzel is a type of cutlet originating in Austria, a piece of meat, pounded, breaded, and then sautéed. Wiener Schnitzel must be made from veal, but other forms of schnitzel can be made from mutton, chicken, beef, turkey, reindeer, or pork.

Act I, Scene 4 - A Corridor in the Abbey

• In the film version, this scene, with Maria singing the reprise of “My Favorite Things”, is replaced with Maria, in a walking and bus-riding soliloquy, taking her trip to the Trapp Villa singing “I Have Confidence”.

Act I, Scene 5 - The Living Room of the Trapp Villa

• A boatswain’s whistle (or pipe or call) is a small high-pitched whistle used to give commands at sea; the pipe is high-pitched so that it can be heard over the roar of the sea. The boatswain (also spelled bo’s’n, bos’n, or bosun) is responsible for supervising the deck department on a ship. When the real Maria first met the Captain, she thought the whistle was an excellent idea! But in the show and the film, Maria is appalled by it! According to the Trapp Family website: “In Salzburg, we had a large house and large gardens, so he used that whistle to call us instead of his voice, which we might not have heard. Each one of us had a special call, and one call for when he wanted all of us. When we heard this, we stormed to him, but we never had to march or stand at attention.”
• When Brigitta enters, she is reading a book, which the Captain takes from her. (This is like Chava in Fiddler on the Roof!)
• Do re mi fa sol la ti: The syllables do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, ti (or, earlier, si) are the seven tones of a major scale, first formulated by Guido of Arezzo, a Benedictine monk who lived around the year ad 1000, based on the hymn Ut queant laxis, written for the feast of St John the Baptist: Ut queant laxis : resonare fībris / Mira gestorum : famuli tuorum, / Solve polluti : labii reatum, / Sancte Iohannes. Originally there were only six syllables; the first was ut; shortly thereafter, si was added to complete the scale. In the 17th century, the first syllable was changed to do, and in the 19th century, si was changed to ti in English-speaking countries, so that each syllable would begin with a different sound. This system of naming the pitches of the major scale is also called solfège in French or solfeggio in Italian, and sometimes sol-fa or solfa in English.
• There were actually ten Trapp children: seven were Georg’s by his first wife, three were Georg’s and Maria’s, but the creators of the show kept the number to seven, to correspond to the notes of the scale.

Act I, Scene 6 - Outside the Villa, that evening (“Sixteen Going on Seventeen”)

• A Gauleiter was the head Nazi in a Gau, the administrative divisions that the Nazis created in Germany, and other lands that they annexed to Germany. Beginning in 1938, the Gauleiter for Salzburg was Friedrich Rainer, who was executed in 1947. The Gauleiter had a great deal of authority, for the Nazi party officials and government were not separated. (Maria’s maiden name was Maria Augusta Kutschera, but in the show she was called Maria Rainer: her mother’s maiden name was Augusta Rainer.) Gau is an older German word approximately equivalent to “county” or “shire”. Two current Swiss cantons are Aargau and Thurgau. (In translating Tolkien’s great fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings into German, the natural translation of “The Shire” would be Der Gau, but the word was so tarnished by the Nazis that Das Auenland was used instead. However, in Dutch De Gouw was used.)
• A roué is a man habituated to immoral conduct; a rake. A cad is similar, but perhaps even more immoral: low-bred, presuming person; a mean, vulgar fellow. 
• Things beyond your ken means “things you don’t know about”. The word ken means knowledge, and, except in some dialects, is now a fossil word, and only occurs in the phrase “beyond one’s ken”.
• A dandy is a man overly concerned about his clothes and appearance, a boulevardier, a fop, a man about town.
• Brandy is a alcoholic liquor distilled from wine or fruit juice. The most renowned brandies are Cognac and Armagnac, both from Southwestern France. (The word brandy is short for brandywine, from Dutch brandewijn ‎(“burnt wine”).

Act I, Scene 7 - Maria’s Bedroom, later that evening (“The Lonely Goatherd”)

• In Germany and Austria, rather than blankets, beds usually have eiderdown comforters.
• Table d’hôte is a French phrase meaning “table of the host”; it refers to a multi-course meal with few or no choices for the diner. Table d’hôte is also called prix fixe (“fixed price”),  “set meal”, or “set menu”. Table d’hôte contrasts with “à la carte”, where diners may order any of the separately priced menu items available.

Act I, Scene 9 - The Terrace of the Villa, six weeks later (“How Can Love Survive?”)

• Saengerbuende (also spelled Sängerbünde) are singing groups.
• A garret is an apartment in the attic of a building, usually cramped and with a sloping roof. In the second half of the 19th century, garrets became a feature of the Second Empire architecture. Garrets were often internal elements of the mansard roof, with skylights or dormer windows. Buildings were taxed according to the number of stories, and, since the garret was considered part of the attic, the owner could rent space in the building and avoid some tax. Before the days of elevators, the apartments became less desirable the higher they were, and the garret was the least desirable. The characters in Puccini’s opera La bohème live in a garret. 
• In a mortgage, the mortgagee is the lender, and the mortgagor is the borrower. The word mortgage is from Legal French meaning “dead pledge”.
• A cold water flat is a single-story apartment that has no running hot water. In most developed countries, building codes make cold water flats illegal. Such apartments typically did not have central heating. Tenants would use kerosene or electric space heaters. To bathe, they would have to heat water in a pot or kettle on the stove and carry it to the bathtub. Cold water flats were common until the mid-20th century in such cities as Chicago and Detroit.
• Camille is the alternate English title of the novel The Lady of the Camellias (in French: La Dame aux camélias) by Alexandre Dumas, fils, first published in 1848, that was subsequently adapted for the stage. (She wears a red camellia during her “period”, and a white camellia when she is “available”.) An instant success, Giuseppe Verdi immediately set about to put the story to music. His work became the 1853 opera La Traviata with the protagonist renamed “Violetta”. The titular lady is Marguerite Gautier, who is based on Marie Duplessis, the real-life lover of the author. The work has seen 16 adaptations on the Broadway stage, and about 10 film versions. The story is about a low-born woman who makes a living by her good looks, becoming the mistress of a wealthy baron. She then falls in love with a worthy but not wealthy young man, whose father discourages the match, seeing that it will ruin his career. She then rejects him and dies of tuberculosis.
• Toujours l’amour is French for “love all the time”.
• Capital gains is the profit on the sale of a capital asset, such as real estate, a stock, or bond.
• A French window is a door-sized window; when hinged, it becomes a “French door”. Often, they overlook a terrace. In French, such a window is known as a  porte-fenêtre, and portafinestra in Italian (meaning “door window”).

Act I, Scene 10 - The Living Room (“Ländler”)

• Anschluss (formerly spelled Anschluß) is German for “annexation”, specifically, the annexation of Austria to Germany on March 12, 1938. This had specifically been forbidden by the Treaties of Versailles and St-Germain, even though the Austrians desired it in 1919. With the coming to power of the National Socialist  (“Nazi”) party in Germany in 1933, the majority of Austrians were opposed to Anschluss. The Austrian chancellor Kurt Schuschnigg called a referendum (plebiscite) on the issue, knowing that the majority of Austrians would vote in favor of maintaining Austrian independence. But Hitler demanded that Schuschnigg resign, and that the head of the Austrian Nazi party be appointed chancellor. Schuschnigg resigned, but before Austrian President Wilhelm Miklas could appoint a replacement, Hitler invaded. The next month Hitler held a referendum on the Anschluss in the whole Reich, with the vote 99.8% in favor. (It probably would have been more credible if it had not been so lopsided!) Italy (under Mussolini), France, and Great Britain protested, but did nothing. The strongest protest came from Mexico.
• A ländler is a folk dance in 3/4 time which was popular in Austria, southern Germany, and adjacent countries. It is probably a forerunner to the waltz. The ländler in The Sound of Music is an original composition, and is a rearrangement “The Lonely Goatherd”, which is more like a polka. The ländler tune occurs again at the rehearsal for the music festival in Act II.
• Auf Wiedersehen is the usual German for “goodbye”; it is a direct translation of the French Au revoir, literally meaning “until to see again”. In the song So Long, Farewell the children also sing adieu, which is French for “goodbye”; literally, “to God”, which is also the origin of “goodbye”, and, of course, the Spanish adios.
• As Maria sneaks away from the house, the orchestra plays a slow version of “Edelweiss”. 

Act II, Scene 1 - The Terrace, the same day (“My Favorite Things” [reprise] , “No Way to Stop It”, and “An Ordinary Couple” or “Something Good”)

• The ministration known as last rites in the Catholic Church refers to the rites and ceremonies usually given to someone near death. The rites consist of three sacraments: penance, extreme unction, and communion. Penance involves the person confessing his sins and receiving absolution. Extreme unction (now usually called the anointing of the sick) involves anointing the person with chrism and prayers for healing. Communion at this time is called viaticum, Latin for “with you on the way”. Anointing is given to those mortally wounded or terminally ill, but not to those awaiting execution. The anointing cannot be repeated for the same person for the same illness.
• In the film version, the song “An Ordinary Couple” is replaced by “Something Good.” During the initial run of the show, Producer Robert Wise and assistant Saul Chaplin discussed replacing “An Ordinary Couple” and Rodgers agreed to the idea, and that he and Hammerstein had been discussing replacing it, but that Hammerstein was too ill to do so. When the film was being planned, Rodgers wrote both music and lyric for “Something Good,” as well as “I have confidence.” Many stage productions now make this replacement as well.

Act II, Scene 3  - The Office of the Mother Abbess, two weeks later

• Gaudeamus omnes in Domino diem festum celebrantes is taken from the introit for the Solemnity of All Saints, and used for other saints’ days. Its English translation is : 
  “Let us all rejoice in the Lord, celebrating a festival day.”

Act II, Scene 4 - The Wedding

• Confitemini, Domino, quoniam bonus, quoniam in saeculum misericordia ejus. This is the opening verse of several psalms, 105 and 106 (which are numbered 104 and 105 in Latin), and means: “O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.”

Act II, Scene 5 - The Homecoming

• Flag of Austria, 1918-38 & 1945-	Flag of Germany, 1867-1918, 1933-35	Flag of Germany, 1918-1933, 1945-

• The official flag of Austria was adopted in 1918, based on a flag used by the Duke of Austria in the middle ages. The North German Confederation adopted the black, white, and red tricolor flag shown above; it was continued by the German Empire from 1870 to 1918. In 1918 the German republic adopted the black, red, and gold tricolor used today. But when the National Socialists (Nazis) came to power in 1933, they readopted the black, white, and red tricolor as the state flag, and “the flag with the black spider on it” was the Nazi party flag. But in July of 1935, when the SS Bremen was docked in New York harbor, a group of demostrators boarded the ship and tore the Nazi Party flag from the jackstaff, and tossed it into the Hudson River. When the German ambassador protested, US officials responded that the German national flag had not been harmed, only a political party symbol. Thereafter the Nazis made the party flag the state flag.
• In this scene, in the play, but not the film, Maria is introduced as the Baroness von Trapp: this is technically incorrect. Captain von Trapp was not a baron (Freiherr in German), but a knight (Ritter in German). The correct form of address would be Ritterin von Trapp: the approximate English equivalent would be “Lady von Trapp”. Titles of nobility were officially abolished in Austria in 1919, so any such designation would be a courtesy title only. (However, he is called Baron in the German films.)
• Bremerhaven is located at the mouth of the Weser River on the North Sea and is part of the “Free Hanseatic City of Bremen,” one of the 16 states of modern Germany, and one of the states before 1933. Bremerhaven is a exclave of the city of Bremen, which is located farther up the Weser. During World War II it was an important naval base, and was heavily bombed by the allies. In the occupation of Germany, Bremen, including Bremerhaven, was in the American occupation sector, entirely surrounded by the British sector; the rest of the American sector was in the south of Germany: Bavaria, Hesse, and Württemberg-Baden, with headquarters at Frankfurt. Bremerhaven thus became the main seaport for the American sector. In earlier times, Bremerhaven was a major embarkation port for emigrants from Germany and Eastern Europe to America. 

Act II, Scene 6 - The Concert Hall

• Edelweiss is not an Austrian folk song, but was written specifically for The Sound of Music, the flower edelweiss being a symbol of Austria, and sung by Captain von Trapp as a farewell to his beloved homeland. The song was added to the show while in Boston tryouts. (In the film version, the audience sings the song as if they had known it since childhood. It is also included in the film where Georg first sings with his children.) Since Theodore Bikel, the original Captain, was a competent guitar player, it was written for him to accompany himself on the guitar. The song was a late addition to the show, and it was the last song that Oscar Hammerstein wrote. The flower edelweiss (Edelweiß in German: scientific name Leontopodium alpinum, part of the Aster or Sunflower family) grows in the Austrian highlands, and an edelweiss was presented by Gretl to Elsa in her visit to the Von Trapp house in Act I, Scene 9. In the 1970s the tune was used with different words for a benediction in many Protestant churches. This version was not authorized by Rodgers and Hammerstein, and they intend to sue anyone using it for commercial purposes. “Edelweiss” is the last song Hammerstein wrote; he died of stomach cancer nine months after the opening of the show.
• Ostmark is an old name for Austria; the German name is Österreich. After the Anschluss, the country was renamed Ostmark; it became Österreich again in 1945.

Act II, Scene 7 - The Abbey Garden

• Stormtroopers were specialist German soldiers in World War I. The use of the term storm troopers at this point (1938) is probably incorrect. The term storm troopers was used for members of the Sturmabteilung, or S.A., or “brown shirts”, the paramilitary branch of the Nazi party. They were used to provide “security” at Nazi party meetings and rallies, and to intimidate opponents. By 1933, it had grown to over 3,000,000 men. By contrast, the German army was limited to 100,000 men by the Treaty of Versailles. Many army leaders complained about the S.A.: their leader, Röhm, wanted the S.A. to absorb the army. In June 1934 President von Hindenburg told Hitler that if he did not curb the S.A., he would dissolve Hitler’s government and declare martial law. Hitler then arrested Röhm and other S.A. leaders; this incident is known as “The Night of the Long Knives”. (Hindenburg died in August, at which point Hitler assumed the office of president, and combined it with chancellor, and called himself Führer und Reichskanzler. With Hindenburg gone, there was no effective check on Hitler’s power.) Although the S.A. continued to exist until 1945, its significance was greatly diminished. In the early 1920s some especially reliable S.A. members were organized as the Schutzstaffel, or S.S., which became Hitler’s bodyguard. After the Nazis came to power, they were the most powerful units of surveillance and terror in the Nazi regime; they were mainly responsible for carrying out the Nazis’ “final solution”: the attempt to exterminate European Jewry.
• I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help is Psalm 121 (Psalm 120 in Latin), verse 1.
• For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing is part of Isaiah 55, verse 12.

Differences in the film version

• The film version of The Sound of Music was released on March 2, 1965, produced and directed by Robert Wise.
• The Sound of Music was the first American musical film to be entirely translated into foreign languages: specifically, French, German, Spanish, and Italian. Hitherto, musical films would have their dialogue dubbed in the new language, but the songs would remain in English with subtitles. It was particularly difficult to translate the song  “Do-Re-Mi”. The film did well in most foreign theaters, except in Germany and Austria. (Hirsch 1993, pp. 179-180)
• In the Broadway version, Maria is introduced as “Baroness von Trapp”, but not in the film. In the film, Elsa is a Baroness, but not in the show.
• Filming was not permitted in the Nonnberg Abbey, except for a scene in the courtyard, and the scene when the children look for Maria. The film crew installed a rope at the Abbey gate, so that the children could ring the bell. After they left, the Reverend Mother liked it so much they left the rope!
• The order of scenes 1 and 2 are reversed; it seemed more appropriate to open the film with the majesty of the Austrian Alps.
• As Maria leaves the Abbey for the von Trapp Villa, instead of a reprise of “My Favorite Things”, Maria sings “I Have Confidence”, as a kind of walking soliloquy. This includes her walking and riding a bus.
• My Favorite Things is sung in the storm scene, instead of “The Lonely Goatherd”.
• In the film version, instead of “The Lonely Goatherd”, Maria sings “My Favorite Things” to the children.
• The song “How Can Love Survive?” is omitted (but is used later in the instrumental underscore when Maria leaves the villa), but the children sing “The Sound of Music”, and then the Captain sings “Edelweiss”. Later, Maria and the children sing “The Lonely Goatherd” with a marionette show.
• When Maria leaves the villa, there is an instrumental underscore incorporating “Edelweiss” and “How Can Love Survive?”
• The song “No Way to Stop It” is omitted, and “An Ordinary Couple” is replaced with “Something Good”.
• The wedding scene in the film was filmed in the church of Mondsee Abbey, located just outside the Salzburg Land in Upper Austria. The church was (and is) a parish church; the abbey was dissolved in 1791 by Emperor Leopold II; and it was not permitted to film in the church of the Nonnberg Abbey.
• The wedding scene portrays Maria with hints of Cinderella and Guinevere. Julie Andrews was pleased with the dress she wore for the wedding; she thought she never looked so beautiful!
• In the film version, the family walk to Switzerland, which is over 200 miles from Salzburg, Austria! Today it would take about four hours to get there on modern highways! In reality the von Trapp family simply took a train to Italy, and then left for America. (In the show, they just walk over the mountains, eventually going by train to Italy.) “Don’t they know geography in Hollywood? Salzburg does not border on Switzerland!”–Maria von Trapp as she watched the final scene in the movie, quoted in Our Sunday Visitor in 1967. “In Hollywood, you make your own geography.”–Robert Wise, Director and Producer of the film, on set design, from an interview by Julia Hirsch, as quoted in Hirsch, 1993, page 75.
• The film made an enormous profit for 20th Century Fox that the major studios made more musical films. Some were successful, such as Thoroughly Modern Millie (Universal: 1967), Funny Girl (Columbia: 1968), Oliver! (Columbia: 1968), Fiddler on the Roof (UA: 1971), and Cabaret (ABC Pictures/Allied Artists: 1972), but many were flops, and almost bankrupted some studios: Dr Dolittle (20th C Fox: 1967), The Happiest Millionaire (Disney: 1967), Star! (20th C Fox: 1968), Sweet Charity (Universal: 1969), Darling Lili (Paramount: 1970), Man of La Mancha (UA: 1972), Lost Horizon (Columbia: 1973), and Mame (ABC: 1974).
• The day after the Von Trapp family left Austria for Italy, Hitler closed the border.

Some sources for this web page:

• Wikipedia
• Wiktionary
• Dictionary.com
• The Trapp Family Story
• Movie vs. Reality: The Real Story of the von Trapp Family, by Joan Gearin; from the National Archives website, Winter 2005, Vol. 37, No. 4. Retrieved 8/12/2016.
• Hirsch, Julia Antopol (1993). The Sound of Music: The Making of Americas Favorite Movie. Chicago: Contemporary Books, Inc. ISBN 978-0-809-23837-8.

See also:

• Nonnberg Abbey (official site: in German)

• Last updated: 07/29/2022.
• For additions, suggestions, corrections, or comments on this glossary, please email me:  tf_mcq <at> yahoo.com.
• Return to McQ’s theater page.
• Return to The Aerospace Players Sound of Music page.