FREE THE STORY OF THE TRAPP FAMILY SINGERS: THE STORY WHICH INSPIRED THE SOUND OF MUSIC PDF Maria Augusta Trapp | 320 pages | 08 Aug 2002 | HarperCollins Publishers Inc | 9780060005771 | English | New York, United States The von Trapps: The Real Family That Inspired 'The Sound of Music' - Biography Maria Augusta Kutschera was born in and after being orphaned at a young The Story of the Trapp Family Singers: The Story Which Inspired The Sound of Music, was reportedly sent to live with an abusive uncle. She attended teachers' college where she discovered religion and converted to Catholicism before becoming a candidate for the novitiate in Salzburg. On screen Rupert became Liesl, a 16 going on year-old girl. In real life, by the time the family fled Austria, Rupert was in his late twenties and a practicing physician. Even the number of children was not correct in the movie. The tenth child, Johannes, was born in America in Though money did not appear to be of concern to the family depicted in the movie, in real life the fortunes of the von Trapp family had faltered during the global depression of the early s to the extent that at the time the film is set, most of the household servants had been dismissed and the family had begun taking in boarders. The lack of funds also prompted the family to consider turning their love of singing together into a profession. Both in real and reel life, the family singers won first place in the Salzburg Music Festival. But the sound of music was already well established within the household before Maria arrived. In a reversal of the stern, music-forbidding retired naval officer depicted in the film, the real Georg and his first wife encouraged song in the family home years before Maria arrived. Like the film, Maria and Georg were in fact married only a year after the novice arrived as governess. Unlike the film, they were actually married inmore than a decade before fleeing Austria in Georg was 25 years older than Maria and the match was not love at first sight. In reality such a journey would have brought them to directly into Germany, not Switzerland as in the film. Salzburg does not border on Switzerland! Though they left Austria only a day before the borders were sealed, their actual departure lacked the drama contained in the film according to documents and interviews contained in the U. National Archives. We left by train in broad daylight, pretending nothing. The von Trapps traveled with their musical conductor, Rev. Franz Wasner, and secretary Martha Zochbauer. On film Wasner became the fictional Max Detweiler, who remained in Austria. The real journey took the family first to Italy, where Georg attained citizenship due to his birthplace having become Italian territory inthen on to London before boarding a ship for America. During the early s they toured the U. There they opened a guest housewhich is still owned and operated by descendants of the von Trapp family. After Clapton's 4-year-old son accidentally fell out of a window to his death, the musician turned his grief into the heart-wrenching ballad. The writer didn't have to look far to pen the now-classic American novel. Here's a look at some of the key players in the British monarchy — and which ones are closest to wearing the crown themselves. Here's the story about the on-set hookups, arguments and drug use that plagued the cast. The studio took extreme measures to make sure the actress was big screen ready. A move that eventually resulted in her early death. Fans of the hit sitcom were scratching their heads at the beginning of season six when a new actor stepped into the role of Darrin. By Colin Bertram. By Erin Blakemore. By Justin Pollard. In the News. By The Story of the Trapp Family Singers: The Story Which Inspired The Sound of Music Kettler. By Wendy Mead. The story of the von Trapps from The Sound of Music 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. Inshe entered Nonnberg Abbeya Benedictine monastery in Salzburgas a postulant intending to become a nun. Maria was asked to teach one of the seven children Maria Franziska of widowed naval commander Georg von Trapp inwhile she was still a schoolteacher at the abbey. 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, who advised her that it was God's will that she should marry him. She then returned to the family and accepted the proposal. She wrote in her autobiography that she was very angry on her wedding day, both at God and at her husband, because what she really wanted was to be a nun. 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. The Von Trapps loved to hike, and on one trip, they spent a night at a farmer's house. It was the next morning before he informed them that two of The Story of the Trapp Family Singers: The Story Which Inspired The Sound of Music daughters had scarlet fever. Unfortunately, Maria, Johanna, and Martina all caught it. They all recovered, but Maria's case, due The Story of the Trapp Family Singers: The Story Which Inspired The Sound of Music lack of hydration, resulted in more serious issues. Maria began experiencing aches in her lower back while on a vacation. The Story of the Trapp Family Singers: The Story Which Inspired The Sound of Music returning home, she saw her doctor about it. He informed Maria that she had kidney stones and there was no way around an operation. Her stepdaughter Maria accompanied her to Vienna, where the operation was to take place. The operation was a success. Nineteen stones were removed. For nearly two weeks after the operation, Maria was forced to lie flat on her back all day. Georg, feeling sorry for his wife, bought her three chicks to keep her company. Soon, though, the chicks grew too big. Georg then got her a turtle. It would go scuttling away across the floor, so Maria made a leash for it out of tape and string. The family faced financial ruin in 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 ofand Lammer's bank failed. The archbishop sent Father Franz Wasner to stay with them as their chaplain, and this began their singing career. Soprano Lotte Lehmann heard the family sing, and she suggested they perform at concerts. When the Austrian Chancellor Kurt Schuschnigg heard them on radio, he invited them to perform in Vienna. After performing at a festival inthey became The Story of the Trapp Family Singers: The Story Which Inspired The Sound of Music popular touring act. 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 and encountered Hitler at a restaurant. The Nazis made use of their abandoned home as Heinrich Himmler 's headquarters. 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. It was only The Story of the Trapp Family Singers: The Story Which Inspired The Sound of Music 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. 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".