Von Trapp to discuss ‘Sound’
The granddaughter of Captain and Maria von Trapp shares memories of the family that inspired the musical.
Elisabeth von Trapp remembers when her father, Werner von Trapp, took her to a movie theater in 1965 to see “The Sound of Music.”
She studied his face as he watched actors portray his family members, including Julie Andrews as his stepmother, Maria von Trapp, and Christopher Plummer as his father, Captain von Trapp. The 1965 movie and1959 Broadway musical on which it was based were inspired by the family’s escape from the Nazis in Austria and relocation in the United States. The children, including Elisabeth von Trapp’s father, toured the country as a musical group led by Maria von Trapp.
Although the movie was a hit, Elisabeth von Trapp says her father and his siblings didn’t like it.
“They were upset about how my grandfather was depicted,” von Trapp, 60, says, “so stern, so severe in that way of being, and not approachable to his children. And the opposite was their father.”
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the movie’s release, von Trapp will discuss her family and perform songs from the musical 6 p.m. Monday, April 20, at Florida Atlantic University. While her father didn’t appreciate the way “The Sound of Music” told his story, von Trapp enjoyed finding real connections between the movie and her relatives.
Growing up in Vermont, she remembers family reunions where her father, aunts and uncles would sing their favorite songs. The memory reminds her of the musical’s “My Favorite Things.”
“It’s so interesting that they even wrote a song like that because it really played out in their lives,” von Trapp says. “They had these unique ways to celebrate their times together because of the many years that they were touring and performing and living together as adults. They had these really beautiful rituals.”
Music has played a big role in von Trapp’s life, as well. She learned how to play piano and guitar as a child, and she would often listen to music with her parents and grandmother. Von Trapp was a fan of the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell, but her parents only allowed her to listen to “those pop songs” in her room.
“I had a record player [on which] I would
the
case.
They
just
adored
The Sound of Music
play all the music when my mother was outside,” von Trapp recalls. “Then, when they came back in, of course it had to be Vivaldi, Bach and Mozart. My father’s favorite was Mozart. I knew that, so I always had a few albums of Mozart ready for him.”
Von Trapp has released five albums, and toured the United States and Europe. Wherever she goes, people have questions about her family.
“I have people coming up to me, they want me to know that they met my grandmother, that they saw my relatives sing,” von Trapp says. “They want to tell me how they are connected to ‘The Sound of Music.’ They want to be a part of this dream.”
She says her performances honor father and his siblings.
“There will be a day when I can’t do the
her singing anymore,” she says. “So I just love the fact that I can do this, and love the fact that people are inviting me to celebrate their lives, and celebrate their moment. It’s an honor.” Elisabeth von Trapp will perform 6 p.m. Monday, April 20, at the Baldwin House at Florida Atlantic University, 555 NW 20th St., in Boca Raton. Tickets cost $100. Call 561-297-2337 or email gvorsas@fau.edu.