Trapp, Maria Augusta, 1905-1987

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Singer and matriach of von Trapp Family; inspiration for "The Sound of Music." Born Maria Augusta Kutschera on a train enroute to Vienna, Austria; she was raised as a socialist and atheist. Her attitude changed while in college, when she entered a crowded church believing she was about to hear a Bach concert, only to find that it was a sermon by a visiting Jesuit priest, Father Kronseder. In 1924, she entered the Nonnberg Benedictine Convent intending to become a nun, but in 1926, she was sent to become a governess at the home of a widowed retired Austrian Navy Captain, Georg Ritter von Trapp, with seven children. They quickly fell in love, and on November 26, 1927, they married.

During the Great Depression the family business failed; in 1936, Maria and family friend began the Trapp Family Singers, and they soon became well known when they received high honors at the 1936 Salzburg Music Festival. In 1938, Austria and Nazi Germany were united in the Anschluss (Union), at which the von Trapps made little secret that they were horrified at the rise of the Nazis. German dictator Adolph Hitler invited them to sing at his birthday celebration, but they declined. Georg also turned down the offer of a commission in the German Navy. With increased Nazi pressure to embrace the new regime, the family decided to leave Austria for the United States, arriving in early 1939.

In 1942, they purchased the old Gale Farm in Stowe, Vermont, which in 1950 became the Trapp Family Lodge. In 1950, at the urging of a family friend, Maria wrote the family story in the book, "The Story of the Trapp Family Singers" (1950), which eventually was turned into the successful Broadway musical by Rogers and Hammerstein (1959), and the movie, "The Sound of Music" (1965). In 1957, the Trapp Family Singers broke up. Maria and three of her children became missionaries in the South Pacific. After several years, she returned to Vermont, and managed the Trapp Family Lodge until her death in 1987, at the age of 82.

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
referencedIn Souvenir programs of contemporary personalities, 1880-1993. Harvard Theater Collection, Houghton Library, Harvard College Library, Harvard University
contributorOf Interview with Maria Von Trapp Thomas Calcagni, interviewer. Vermont Historical Society
creatorOf Elizabeth M. Lauritzen papers, 1928-1994 Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Church History Library
creatorOf Theatre Aquarius Archives (University of Guelph). The Sound of Music / music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse suggested by "The Story of the Trapp Family Singers" ; directed and choreographed by Lou Zamprogna, 2004 - performance files. University of Guelph. McLaughlin Library
referencedIn Agathe von Trapp collection, 1993-2014. Vermont Historical Society
referencedIn Pensacola-Tallahassee Diocesan Council of Catholic Women Records, 1939- University of West Florida Libraries
creatorOf Richard Rodgers Collection, 1917-1980, (bulk 1925-1979) Library of Congress. Music Division
referencedIn Vincent J. Donehue papers, 1946-1965 The New York Public Library. Billy Rose Theatre Division.
referencedIn Records of District Courts of the United States. 1685 - 2009. Petitions and Records of Naturalization. 5/1842 - 1982. Naturalization Petition File for Maria von Trapp National Archives at Boston
creatorOf Rodgers, Richard, 1902-1979. Sound of music. Library of Congress
referencedIn Records of District Courts of the United States. 1685 - 2009. Petitions and Records of Naturalization. 5/1842 - 1982. Naturalization Petition File for Maria von Trapp. 1942 - 1948. Declaration of Intention of Maria von Trapp National Archives at Boston
Role Title Holding Repository
Place Name Admin Code Country
Vienna 09 AT
Morrisville VT US
Republic of Austria 00 AT
Subject
Occupation
Singer
Activity

Person

Birth 1905-01-26

Death 1987-03-28

English

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SNAC ID: 87334683