Maria von Trapp | |
|---|---|
 Von Trapp in 1948 | |
| Born | Maria Augusta Kuczera (1905-01-26)26 January 1905 |
| Died | 28 March 1987(1987-03-28) (aged 82) Morrisville, Vermont, U.S. |
| Resting place | Trapp Family Cemetery,Trapp Family Lodge,Stowe, Vermont, U.S. |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3, includingJohannes von Trapp, plus 7 stepchildren |
Maria Augusta von TrappDHS (née Kutschera; 26 January 1905 – 28 March 1987), often styled as "Baroness",[1][2][3] was the stepmother and matriarch of theTrapp Family.[4][5] She wroteThe Story of the Trapp Family Singers, which was published in 1949 and was the inspiration for the 1956 West German filmThe Trapp Family, which in turn inspired the 1959 Broadway musicalThe Sound of Music and its1965 film version.[6][7]
Maria was purportedly born on 26 January 1905 to Karl and Augusta (née Rainer) Kuczera.[8][9] She says she was delivered on a train on the night of the 25th, during her mother's return from her homeland ofTyrol to their family residence inVienna, Austria.[10][6] She was baptized into theCatholic Church on the 29th within theAlservorstadt parish and maternity hospital.[11]
Her father was ahotel commissionaire,[8] born in Vienna,[12] the son of Josef Kučera from aMoravian village,Vídeň.[13][14] Karl was first married inGraz to Klara Rainer in 1887.[15] The couple had a son Karl in 1888 before Klara's death a few months later.[16][17] Maria's father remained a widower until he remarried to Klara's younger sister, Augusta, in 1903.[18] Augusta died ofpulmonary tuberculosis when Maria was nearly 10 months old.[19] Maria's grief-stricken father left her with his cousin inKagran,[10] who also fostered Maria's half-brother Karl after his mother Klara had died. Maria's father then traveled the world, although Maria would visit him upon occasion at his apartment in Vienna. He changed the spelling of their surname toKutschera in 1914,[11] dying at home later that year.[10] Maria's foster mother's son-in-law, Uncle Franz, then became her guardian.[20]
Uncle Franz mistreated Maria and punished her for things she did not do; he was later found to be mentally ill. This changed Maria from a shy child into the teenage "class cut-up", figuring she may as well have fun if she were going to get in trouble either way. Despite this change, Maria continued to get good grades.[20]
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. Because she looked so young, no one took her seriously. Finally, a hotel manager asked her to be 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.[20] She graduated from there at age 18 in 1923.
In 1924, she enteredNonnberg Abbey, aBenedictine monastery inSalzburg, as apostulant, intending to become a nun.[21][22]
While still teaching at the Abbey in 1926, Maria was asked to teachMaria Franziska von Trapp, one of seven children born to widowed naval commanderGeorg von Trapp.[7][23] His first wife, the Anglo-Austrian heiressAgathe Whitehead, had earlier died in 1922 fromscarlet fever.[24] Eventually, Maria began to look after the other children:Rupert,Agathe,Werner,Hedwig,Johanna, andMartina.
Captain von Trapp saw how much she cared about his children and asked her to marry him, although he was 25 years her senior. Frightened, she fled back to Nonnberg Abbey to seek guidance from themother abbess,Virgilia Lütz, who advised her 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 she really wanted 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."[25] They married atNonnberg Abbey on 26 November 1927 and had three children together: Rosmarie (1929–2022), Eleonore ("Lorli") (1931–2021) andJohannes (born 1939).[26]
The von Trapps enjoyed hiking. On one outing, they stayed overnight at a farmer's house. The next morning, they were informed that Maria and two of Georg's daughters, Johanna and Martina, hadscarlet fever. Johanna and Martina recovered, but the older Maria developedkidney stones due todehydration. Her stepdaughter, Maria Franziska, accompanied her to Vienna for a successful surgery, but Maria experienced lifelong kidney problems.[25]
The family met with financial ruin in 1935. Georg had transferred his savings from a bank inLondon to an Austrian bank run by a friend named Auguste Caroline Lammer. Austria was experiencing economic difficulties during aworldwide depression because of theCrash of 1929, and Lammer's bank failed.[27] To survive, the Trapps dismissed most of their servants, moved into the top floor of their house, and rented out the other rooms. TheArchbishop of Salzburg, Sigismund Waitz, sent FatherFranz Wasner to stay with them as theirchaplain and this began their singing career.[25]
SopranoLotte Lehmann heard the family sing, and she suggested they perform at concerts. When theAustrian ChancellorKurt Schuschnigg heard them over the radio, he invited them to perform in Vienna.[28]
After performing at a festival in 1935, they became a popular touring act. They experienced life under theNazis after theAnschluss (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, and finally by the extension of an offer forGeorg to join theGerman Navy.[29] In September, the family fled Austria forItaly via train, then toEngland and finally theUnited States. The Nazis made use of their abandoned home asHeinrich Himmler's headquarters.[25]
Initially calling themselves the "Trapp Family Choir", the von Trapps began to perform in the United States andCanada. They performed inNew York City atThe Town Hall on 10 December 1938.[6][28][30][31] TheNew 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.[6][31]
Charles Wagner was their first booking agent, then they signed on withFrederick 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".[25] The family, which by then included all ten children, was soon touring the world giving concert performances.[6]Alix Williamson served as the group's publicist for over two decades. After the war, they founded theTrapp Family Austrian Relief fund, which sent food and clothing to the impoverished in Austria.
In the 1940s, the family moved toStowe, Vermont, where they ran amusic 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. At application, the adjective 'von' was dropped from their family name.[32] 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 inPhiladelphia on 17 January 1939 during a concert tour.[27] Georg von Trapp died in 1947 in Vermont after suffering lung cancer.
The family made a series of 78-rpm records forRCA Victor in the 1950s, some of which were later issued onRCA 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 inPapua New Guinea. In 1965, Maria moved back to Vermont to manage theTrapp Family Lodge, which had been namedCor Unum. She began turning over management of the lodge to her son Johannes, although she was initially reluctant to do so.[33] Hedwig returned to Austria and worked as a teacher inUmhausen.
Maria von Trapp died of heart failure on 28 March 1987, aged 82, inMorrisville, Vermont, three days following surgery.[34] She is interred in the family cemetery at the lodge, along with her husband and five of her step-children.
The family has won the following awards:[23]
| Name | Birth | Death | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rosmarie von Trapp | 8 February 1929[35] | 13 May 2022 (aged 93) | Rosmarie worked as a singer and missionary inPapua New Guinea. She most recently lived inPittsburgh.[6] |
| Eleonore von Trapp | 14 May 1931[36] | 17 October 2021 (aged 90)[37] | Married Hugh David Campbell in 1954 and had seven daughters with him. Lived with her family inWaitsfield, Vermont.[5] |
| Johannes von Trapp | (1939-01-17)17 January 1939 (age 86)[36][failed verification] | Married Lynne Peterson in 1969 and had one son and one daughter with her.[5] He became manager of the family lodge in the 1970s.[38] |
Maria von Trapp's book,The Story of the Trapp Family Singers, published in 1949, was a best-seller. It was made into two successful German / Austrian films:
The book was then adapted intoThe Sound of Music, a 1959Broadway musical byRodgers and Hammerstein, starringMary Martin andTheodore Bikel. It was a success, running for more than three years. The musical was adapted in 1965 as a motion pictureof the same name, starringJulie Andrews. The film version set US box office records, and Maria von Trapp received about $500,000 ($5.45 million today) in royalties.[6]
Maria von Trapp made acameo appearance in the movie version ofThe 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."[39]
Maria von Trapp sang "Edelweiss" with Andrews onThe Julie Andrews Hour in 1973. In 1991, a 40 episodeanime series, titledTrapp Family Story aired in Japan, her character referred to by her maiden name (Maria Kutschera), voiced byMasako Katsuki. She was portrayed in the 2015 filmThe von Trapp Family: A Life of Music byYvonne Catterfeld.
The ceremonies ended today in a morning Mass, at which the cadets stood watch during a performance of Franz Schubert'sGerman Mass, then laid a wreath at the grave of Baron and Baroness von Trapp, who were portrayed byChristopher Plummer andJulie Andrews in the 1965 filmThe Sound of Music.
Georg von Trapp, born in 1880, became a national hero as a captain in the Austrian navy during World War I. He commanded submarines with valor and received the title of "Ritter" and subsequently "baron") as a reward for his heroic accomplishments.
Maria Augusta von Trapp, the guiding force behind a family of singers who won world renown when their story was portrayed in the play and filmThe Sound of Music, died of heart failure yesterday inMorrisville, Vermont, three days after undergoing surgery. She was 82 years old and had lived inStowe, Vermont, for more than 40 years. ... She is survived by a son, Johannes, of Stowe; two daughters, Eleonore Campbell ofWaitsfield, Vermont, and Rosmarie Trapp ofPittsburgh; two stepsons, Rupert, of Stowe and Werner, of Waitsfield; three stepdaughters, Agathe von Trapp ofGlyndon, Maryland, Maria Franziska von Trapp ofPapua New Guinea, and Johanna von Trapp ofSan Diego, California, and by 29 grandchildren.
Maria was chosen by the Mother Abbess to help the Baron Georg von Trapp with his seven children and tutor young Maria who had contracted scarlet fever.
When Agathe was 10, her mother died of scarlet fever. ...
After Armistice day when the boys [Maria's sons] were still in Europe, they had gone for a short visit to Salzburg and found that our old home there had been confiscated by Heinrich Himmler; that it had been made his headquarters for the last period of that cruel war; that the chapel had been turned into a beer parlour; and what had been Father Wasner's room had become Hitler's quarters when he came there.
{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)Maria Kutschera and Georg von Trapp married in 1927. They had three children together.
When Soprano Lotte Lehmann heard them, she suggested concerts. When Austrian Chancellor Kurt von Schuschnigg heard them over the radio, he invited them to sing in Vienna. Soon the von Trapps were touring the whole map of Europe.
After Hitler invaded Austria, von Trapp was offered a position in the German navy. He refused...
An intriguing array of choral selections, culled from the music of the last five centuries, and representative works for the early vertical flutes known as recorders, was presented by the Trapp Family Choir at their first New York concert given yesterday afternoon at Town Hall.
Like many other parents who have been leaders for a very long time, I simply didn't know how to step down without bitterness and reproaches.
Still, Johannes von Trapp, the 10th and youngest child, remembers growing up relatively anonymously in a quiet, strict home. ... By 1969, he had graduated from Dartmouth, completed a master's degree from the Yale School of Forestry and was planning on an academic career in natural resources. He returned to Stowe to put the inn's finances in order, and ended up running the place. He tried to leave, moving to a ranch in British Columbia in 1977 and staying a few years, then moving to a ranch in Montana. But the professional management in Stowe kept quitting. "Now I'm stuck here", he said.
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