The Hills of Salzburg Soon Will Be Alive
with the Sound of Music (where it all began)!
Is there anyone who doesn't know the song that begins with "Doe, a deer, a female dear..."
or the story of the Baron von Trapp and family and their dramatic escape from Austria during World War II? This story, the musical, and the movie, have been enjoyed all over the world but never before in Salzburg itself where it all began.
At a recent press party to launch the blue ray DVD and the upcoming theatrical production in Salzburg of "The Sound of Music" premiering October 23, 2011 in the Landestheater in Salzburg, I asked the question of the day: "Why has it taken so long to come home?" The answer that may be most obvious is that the story relates to a time in Austrian history that many would like to forget. But the second answer is far more upbeat and interesting: In the movie, the von Trapp family were shown crossing over the Alps by foot from Salzburg into Switzerland which would, in fact, have been a shear impossibility as Salzburg is nowhere near Switzerland. If they had, indeed, been crossing the Alps, they would have to have been wearing boots and clothes for the snow, and more significantly, the direction they were heading would have been into Hitler's Germany! That's Hollywood for you! The way they actually escaped was secretly by train into Italy where Baron von Trapp had a commission on one of the U-boats.
Dramatic license aside, Hollywood produced a memorable musical. One of the great highlights of the event was the presence of three special people: Mary Rogers and Alice Hammerstein, the daughters of Rogers and Hammerstein who wrote the music and lyrics, and Sam von Trapp, the youngest son of the youngest son of Maria and Baron von Trapp who was the only one of their large offspring to be born in America. Though he was sporting the traditional Austrian jacket, he looked and sounded as down-home relaxed and American as apple pie, but definitely possessed the famed Austrian charm.
I was hoping that the press attending would be given a ticket to the premiere in Salzburg but we did receive a copy of the blue ray disc of the movie, produced for its 45th anniversary, which I plan to enjoy in the very near future. And should you be planning a European vacation in the Fall, I can't think of a more charming city than Salzburg, home of Mozart. I'll never forget hearing a Mozart chamber music concert my first night in Salzburg. It brought tears to my eyes.