Baroness Maria Augusta von Trapp
DHS (; 26 January 1905 – 28 March 1987) was the stepmother and matriarch of the
Trapp Family Singers.
She wrote ''
The Story of the Trapp Family Singers
''The Story of the Trapp Family Singers'' is a 1949 memoir written by Maria Augusta von Trapp, whose life was later fictionalized in Rodgers and Hammerstein's Broadway musical ''The Sound of Music'' in 1959.
Background
Maria never intended to ...
'', which was published in 1949 and was the inspiration for the 1956 West German film ''
The Trapp Family'', which in turn inspired the 1959 Broadway musical ''
The Sound of Music'' and its 1965
film version
A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dia ...
.
Biography
Early life
Maria was born on 26 January 1905 to Augusta (''née'' Rainer) and Karl Kutschera. She was delivered on a train heading from her parents' village in Tyrol to a hospital in Vienna, Austria.[
Her mother died of pneumonia when she was two. Her father, grief-stricken, left Maria with his cousin (her foster mother) who had cared for Maria's half-brother after his mother died. Maria's father then traveled the world, although Maria would visit him upon occasion at his apartment in Vienna. When she was nine, her father died. Her foster mother's son-in-law, Uncle Franz, then became her guardian.]
Uncle Franz did not treat Maria well and punished her for things she did not do. (He later was found to be mentally ill.) This changed Maria from the shy child she was and, as a teenager, she became the "class cut-up", figuring she may as well have fun if she was going to get in trouble either way. Despite this change, Maria continued to get good grades.
After graduating from high school at 15, Maria ran away to stay with a friend with the intent to become a tutor for children staying at nearby hotels. As she looked so young, no one took her seriously. Finally, a hotel manager asked her to be the umpire for a tennis tournament. Although she did not know what an umpire was and had never played tennis, she took the job.
From this job, she saved enough money to enter the State Teachers College for Progressive Education in Vienna, where she also received a scholarship. She graduated from there at age 18, in 1923.
In 1924, she entered Nonnberg Abbey, a Benedictine monastery in Salzburg, as a postulant intending to become a nun.
Marriage
Maria was asked to teach one of the seven children ( Maria Franziska) of widowed naval commander Georg von Trapp in 1926, while she was still a schoolteacher at the abbey. His wife, Agathe Whitehead, had died in 1922 from scarlet fever
Scarlet fever, also known as Scarlatina, is an infectious disease caused by ''Streptococcus pyogenes'' a Group A streptococcus (GAS). The infection is a type of Group A streptococcal infection (Group A strep). It most commonly affects childr ...
. Eventually, Maria began to look after the other children (Rupert
Rupert may refer to:
People
* Rupert (name), various people known by the given name or surname "Rupert"
Places Canada
*Rupert, Quebec, a village
*Rupert Bay, a large bay located on the south-east shore of James Bay
*Rupert River, Quebec
*Rupert' ...
, Agathe, Werner, Hedwig, Johanna
Johanna is a feminine name, a variant form of Joanna that originated in Latin in the Middle Ages, including an -h- by analogy with the Latin masculine name Johannes. The original Greek form ''Iōanna'' lacks a medial /h/ because in Greek /h/ cou ...
and Martina), as well.
Captain von Trapp saw how much she cared about his children and asked her to marry him, although he was 25 years her senior. She was frightened and fled back to Nonnberg Abbey to seek guidance from the mother abbess, Virgilia Lütz, who advised her that it was God's will that she should marry him. She then returned to the family and accepted his proposal. She wrote in her autobiography that she was very angry on her wedding day, both at God and at her new husband, because what she really wanted was to be a nun. "I really and truly was not in love. I liked him but didn't love him. However, I loved the children, so in a way I really married the children. I learned to love him more than I have ever loved before or after."[ They were married on 26 November 1927 and had three children together: Rosmarie (1929-2022), Eleonore ("Lorli") (1931-2021) and Johannes (born 1939).
]
Medical problems
The Von Trapps enjoyed hiking. On one outing, they stayed overnight at a farmer's house. The next morning, they were informed that two of his daughters had scarlet fever
Scarlet fever, also known as Scarlatina, is an infectious disease caused by ''Streptococcus pyogenes'' a Group A streptococcus (GAS). The infection is a type of Group A streptococcal infection (Group A strep). It most commonly affects childr ...
. Georg's children, Maria, Johanna, and Martina were infected. Johanna and Martina recovered, but the older Maria developed kidney stones, due to dehydration. Her stepdaughter, Maria, accompanied her to Vienna for a successful surgery, but Maria experienced lifelong kidney problems.
Financial problems
The family met with financial ruin in 1935. Georg had transferred his savings from a bank in London to an Austrian bank run by a friend named Frau Lammer. Austria was experiencing economic difficulties during a worldwide depression because of the Crash of 1929 and Lammer's bank failed. To survive, the Trapps discharged most of their servants, moved into the top floor of their house, and rented out the other rooms. The Archbishop of Salzburg, Sigismund Waitz, sent Father Franz Wasner
Franz Mathias Wasner (December 28, 1905 – June 21, 1992) was an Austrian Roman Catholic priest, the director and conductor of the Trapp Family Singers, and a missionary. In the quasi-fictionalized stage and screen musical ''The Sound of Music'' ...
to stay with them as their chaplain and this began their singing career.[
]
Early musical career and departure from Austria
Soprano Lotte Lehmann heard the family sing, and she suggested they perform at concerts. When the Austrian Chancellor Kurt Schuschnigg heard them over the radio, he invited them to perform in Vienna.
After performing at a festival in 1935, they became a popular touring act. They experienced life under the Nazis
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...
after the annexation of Austria by Germany in March 1938. Life became increasingly difficult as they witnessed hostility toward Jewish children by their classmates, the use of children against their parents, the advocacy of abortion both by Maria's doctor and by her son's school and finally by the induction of Georg into the German Navy. They visited Munich in the summer of 1938 and encountered Hitler at a restaurant. In September, the family left Austria and traveled to Italy, then to England and finally the United States. The Nazis made use of their abandoned home as Heinrich Himmler's headquarters.
Initially calling themselves the "Trapp Family Choir", the von Trapps began to perform in the United States and Canada. They performed in New York City at The Town Hall on 10 December 1938.[ The '' New York Times'' wrote:
]There was something unusually lovable and appealing about the modest, serious singers of this little family aggregation as they formed a close semicircle about their self-effacing director for their initial offering, the handsome Mme. von Trapp in simple black, and the youthful sisters garbed in black and white Austrian folk costumes enlivened with red ribbons. It was only natural to expect work of exceeding refinement from them, and one was not disappointed in this.
Charles Wagner was their first booking agent, then they signed on with Frederick Christian Schang Frederick Christian Schang, Jr. (December 15, 1893 – August 26, 1990) was a talent agent and later president of Columbia Artists Management.
Biography
He was born on December 15, 1893 and attended the Columbia School of Journalism. After grad ...
. Thinking the name "Trapp Family Choir" too churchy, Schang Americanized their repertoire and, following his suggestion, the group changed its name to the "Trapp Family Singers".[ The family, which by then included ten children, was soon touring the world giving concert performances.][ ]Alix Williamson
Alix Williamson (5 April 1916 – 26 August 2001) was an American publicist who specialized in promoting musical artists both in the United States and abroad. A graduate of Hunter College, she promoted the Juilliard String Quartet for 23 years ...
served as the group's publicist for over two decades. After the war, they founded the Trapp Family Austrian Relief fund, which sent food and clothing to people impoverished in Austria.
Move to the United States
In the 1940s, the family moved to Stowe, Vermont, where they ran a music camp when they were not touring. In 1944, Maria Augusta, Maria Franziska, Johanna, Martina, Hedwig and Agathe applied for U.S. citizenship, whereas Georg never applied to become a citizen. Rupert and Werner became citizens by serving during World War II, while Rosmarie and Eleonore became citizens by virtue of their mother's citizenship. Johannes was born in the United States in Philadelphia on the 17th January 1939 during a concert tour.[ Georg von Trapp died in 1947 in Vermont after suffering lung cancer.
The family made a series of 78-rpm records for ]RCA Victor
RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also Aris ...
in the 1950s, some of which were later issued on RCA Camden LPs. There were also a few later recordings released on LPs, including some stereo sessions. In 1957, the Trapp Family Singers disbanded and went their separate ways. Maria and three of her children became missionaries in Papua New Guinea. In 1965, Maria moved back to Vermont to manage the Trapp Family Lodge, which had been named ''Cor Unum''. She began turning over management of the lodge to her son Johannes, although she was initially reluctant to do so.
Hedwig returned to Austria and worked as a teacher in Umhausen
Umhausen is a municipality in the Imst district of state of Tyrol in western Austria. It and is located 17 km southeast of Imst at the Ötztaler Ache in the Ötztal. It has 3078 inhabitants.
Geography
The municipality consists of six vill ...
.
Death
Maria von Trapp died of heart failure on 28 March 1987, aged 82, in Morrisville, Vermont, three days following surgery. She is interred in the family cemetery at the lodge, along with her husband and five of her step-children.
File:Trapp Family Cemetery.jpg, The family cemetery in 2022. Maria's grave is on the left
Decorations and awards
The family has won the following awards:[
* 1949 – Benemerenti Medal (]Pope Pius XII
Pope Pius XII ( it, Pio XII), born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (; 2 March 18769 October 1958), was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death in October 1958. Before his e ...
), in recognition of the benefits of the Trapp Family Austrian Relief for needy Austrians
* 1952 – Dame of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre (Vatican-Pope Pius XII)
* 1956 – Catholic Mother of the Year in the United States. Women receive this honorary title, to recognise exemplary behavior
* 1957 –
* 1962 – Siena Medal – an award given by Theta Phi Alpha women's fraternity to "an outstanding woman to recognize her for her endurance and great accomplishment." The medal is the highest honor the organization bestows upon a non-member and is named after Saint Catherine of Siena.
* 1967 – Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art, 1st class
The Austrian Decoration for Science and Art (german: Österreichisches Ehrenzeichen für Wissenschaft und Kunst) is a state decoration of the Republic of Austria and forms part of the Austrian national honours system.
History
The "Austrian D ...
* 2007 – The von Trapp Family received the Egon Ranshofen Wertheimer Prize in Braunau am Inn
* 2012 – Naming of Maria Trapp-Platz in Donaustadt
Donaustadt (; literally, Danube City; Central Bavarian: ''Donaustod'') is the 22nd district of Vienna, Austria (german: 22. Bezirk, Donaustadt).
Donaustadt is the eastern district of Vienna.Statistik Austria, 2007, webpage statistik.at-23450.
...
(22nd District of Vienna)
Children
Adaptations of the autobiography
Maria von Trapp's book, ''The Story of the Trapp Family Singers
''The Story of the Trapp Family Singers'' is a 1949 memoir written by Maria Augusta von Trapp, whose life was later fictionalized in Rodgers and Hammerstein's Broadway musical ''The Sound of Music'' in 1959.
Background
Maria never intended to ...
'', published in 1949, was a best-seller. It was made into two successful German / Austrian films:
* '' The Trapp Family'' (1956)
* ''The Trapp Family in America
''The Trapp Family in America'' (german: Die Trapp-Familie in Amerika) is a 1958 West German comedy drama film about the real-life Austrian musical Trapp Family directed by Wolfgang Liebeneiner and starring Ruth Leuwerik, Hans Holt, and Josef Me ...
'' (1958)
The book was then adapted into '' The Sound of Music'', a 1959 Broadway musical by Rodgers and Hammerstein, starring Mary Martin and Theodore Bikel. It was a success, running for more than three years. The musical was adapted in 1965 as a motion picture of the same name, starring Julie Andrews
Dame Julie Andrews (born Julia Elizabeth Wells; 1 October 1935) is an English actress, singer, and author. She has garnered numerous accolades throughout her career spanning over seven decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Fi ...
. The film version set US box office records, and Maria von Trapp received about $500,000 ($ today) in royalties.[
Maria von Trapp made a cameo appearance in the movie version of ''The Sound of Music'' (1965). For an instant, she, her daughter Rosmarie, and Werner's daughter Barbara can be seen walking past an archway during the song, "I Have Confidence", at the line, "I must stop these doubts, all these worries / If I don't, I just know I'll turn back."]
Maria von Trapp sang " Edelweiss" with Andrews on '' The Julie Andrews Hour '' in 1973. In 1991, a 40 episode anime series, titled '' Trapp Family Story'' aired in Japan, her character referred to by her maiden name (Maria Kutschera), voiced by Masako Katsuki
is a Japanese actress, voice actress and narrator formerly affiliated with Theater Echo and now with 81 Produce. Following her debut in ''Shiroi Kiba: White Fang Monotagari'' as the role of Mary Scott, Katsuki has lent her voice to several notabl ...
. She was portrayed in the 2015 film '' The von Trapp Family: A Life of Music'' by Yvonne Catterfeld.
Writings
*
The Story of the Trapp Family Singers
' (1949)
*
Around the Year with the Trapp Family
' (1955)
*
A Family on Wheels: Further Adventures of the Trapp Family Singers
' (c. 1959)
*
Yesterday, Today and Forever: The Religious Life of a Remarkable Family
' (1952)
*
Maria
' (1972)
* ''When the King was Carpenter'', Harrison, AR
Harrison is a city and the county seat of Boone County, Arkansas, United States. It is named after General Marcus LaRue Harrison, a surveyor who laid out the city along Crooked Creek at Stifler Springs. According to 2019 Census Bureau estimate ...
: New Leaf (1976)
References
External links
History of the von Trapp Family (from the Trapp Family Lodge website)
Site regarding the von Trapp descendants
Maria von Trapp
interview on BBC Radio 4 '' Desert Island Discs'', 29 December 1983
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Trapp, Maria von
1905 births
1987 deaths
Musicians from Vienna
20th-century Austrian women singers
Austrian emigrants to the United States
Austrian baronesses
Austrian Roman Catholics
Austrian anti-fascists
Musical theatre characters
Emigrants from Austria after the Anschluss
People from Stowe, Vermont
Maria
Austrian governesses
Recipients of the Benemerenti medal
Recipients of the Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria
Recipients of the Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art, 1st class
Burials in Vermont
Musicians from Vermont