The Sound of Music is based on the true story of Maria Rainer who served as a governess for the 7 children of Captain von Trapp, a retired Austrian Navy officer. Previously, she was, perhaps, an orphan taken care by The Nonnberg Abbey and was to work for the Abbey in her adulthood. However, Maria was deemed not suited for religious life and sent out on this mission.
The Captain ran his house like a battleship, treating his children like military recruits. I thought he ran it like a circus, treating them like performing animals. But when Maria and the children got to spend time alone together, she introduced them to a different kind of life, teaching them to sing and dance, winning them over in the process. The Captain was away on a holiday with his fiancée, Elsa Schraeder.
Upon his return, he was shocked by the chaos and Maria’s disregard of “The Captain’s Standing Orders”. His cold reserve melted when he heard the sound of music at home for the first time in many years. Then, he realized the importance of knowing and loving his children. That is our SAF equivalent of ‘caring for soldiers’.
Gradually, the Captain indulged in their enjoyment and at one occasion, danced with Maria. It was there and then that Maria realized her love for the Captain. Welcome the Austrian version of “The King and I”? Coincidentally or not, TKI is created by the same duo, Richard Rogers and Oscar Hammerstein, who brought TSM to the world. We shall go back to the story. At the same time, the Captain and his fiancée dissolved their engagement on disagreement over Nazi invasion of Austria. With Elsa gone, there is nothing to come between them and they married 2 weeks later. Yes, 2 weeks.
By the time they returned from their honeymoon, Austria was already invaded by Nazi Germany. The Captain was then pressed into immediate military service, but Maria gained some time for him by convincing the authorities that they are scheduled to sing in a music festival.
Under the not-so-tight escort of Nazi military police, they managed to escape and hide in Nonnberg Abbey. With the help of the nuns, the Nazi soldiers searched for them unsuccessfully. Finally, they left for Switzerland for a new life.
Winner of 6 Tony Awards, including Best Musical in 1959, The Sound of Music is the world’s best loved musical. The original production of The Sound of Music opened at Broadway’s Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on November 16, 1959 and ran for 1,443 performances. The movie adaptation of the same name is equally successful and stands as the most successful movie musical of all time. My mother and aunt watched it on cinema and had to be seated on the stairs with many others.
The Sound of Music will be performed in The Esplanade from 8 April 2005 to 30 April 2005.
Resources: SISTIC www.sistic.com.sg
The Sound of Musical official website http://www.thesoundofmusic.biz/about.htm
1 comment:
Wanna go watch it together?
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