The Sound of Music: 10 Things to Know  

1. The Sound of Music was originally called Love Song. The creators renamed it after a lawyer pointed out the title had already been copyrighted. 

2. Not only was the musical an instant hit, but the album of the same name, featuring songs performed by the original Broadway cast, was also a record-breaking success.  

3. Maria von Trapp sold the rights to her life story for $9,000, to the producer of the German-language films based on her memoir.  

4. Among the many discrepancies between the factual history of the von Trapp family and their story’s musical adaptation, perhaps the most shocking is that, according to Maria, she was not in love with Georg von Trapp when they married. She did add that she grew to love him later.

5. Runner-up shocker: In the musical, Maria teaches the children “Do-Re-Mi” to help them learn the musical scale. But the real story is, they already knew how to sing!  

6. Maria von Trapp has a cameo in the film version. Look for her in the background when Julie Andrews sings “I Have Confidence.”

7. “I Have Confidence” and “Something Good” were both written and composed by Richard Rodgers after Oscar Hammerstein’s death, and both were originally featured in the story’s film version. Today most productions of the musical also include both songs.  

8. “Edelweiss”—in which Captain von Trapp bids farewell to his beloved home country of Austria—was the last song Oscar Hammerstein wrote before his death from stomach cancer.  

9. Fans of The Sound of Music flock to Salzburg, Austria to visit the historic landmarks from the story. Some even stay in the former home of the von Trapp family, now a stately hotel known as the Villa Trapp. 

10. Also popular with fans is the Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe, Vermont, the town where the von Trapps settled after fleeing Austria, because the mountains reminded them of their home. The family opened the lodge in 1950 and rebuilt it in 1980 following a fire.