todayinhistory: March 2nd 1965: Sound of Music premieresOn this day in 1965, the film The Sound of M
todayinhistory:March 2nd 1965: Sound of Music premieresOn this day in 1965, the film The Sound of Music held its official premiere at the Rivoli Theater in New York City. It was based on a 1959 musical of the same name composed by Rodgers and Hammerstein. The musical is based on the real story of the von Trapp family. In 1926, a young Austrian nun named Maria Kutschera was asked to become the governess of the seven children of widowed naval officer Georg von Trapp. Impressed with her work with the children, Georg proposed to Maria, who reluctantly accepted at the urging of her Mother Abbess. However, Maria came to love her husband, and they went on to have three children together. The family came to prominence for their musical talents, and performed at concerts throughout Austria even after it was annexed by Nazi Germany in 1938. However they did not remain long in Nazi territory, and fled to Italy and later the United States. The von Trapps continued their music career upon their move to the United States, and in 1949 Maria published her memoir which became the basis for the musical. The 1965 film starred Julie Andrews as Maria and Christopher Plummer as Georg. It opened to initially negative reviews, being blasted as overly sentimental. However opinion changed rapidly, and The Sound of Music won five Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Songs featured in the musical have gone on to become musical theatre staples, including the titular ‘The Sound of Music’, ‘My Favourite Things’, ‘Climb Ev’ry Mountain, and ‘Do-Re-Mi’. 50 years ago today -- source link
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