It’s true we have a guest writer! It’s Dr. Steve Jacobsen. He makes weekly posts writing his response to the world; to art, music, history, or stuff in his backyard! His response to most things, most of the time, is spiritual curiosity. I read his posts so regularly because they encourage the same in me. I knew Steve first as the pastor of a peaceful seaside chapel, then as a writer, and as a friend. He offers a refreshing outlook on what he sees, including a model of spirituality which is not dogmatic but curious.
Here our writings intersect a bit as he has been in Europe for a couple weeks, feeding his great appetite for arts & letters, opera & history, and apparently Rodgers & Hammerstein.
Our travels also intersected at the end of his trip when we met for a pint in Amsterdam! (Photo proof at end). I encourage you to subscribe and read, from the link below.
Now here’s Steve!
An Unexpected Ending: “The Sound of Music” in Vienna
When we got tickets for a German language production of “The Sound of Music” in Vienna, I was expecting to be amused.
Of course, the songs are familiar. After seeing the 1965 movie starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer, my mother bought the LP and played it often. The movie won five academy awards, and by 1971 became the highest grossing film up to that time. The music has become a part of our popular culture.
My sister and I bought tickets for a Sunday night performance at the Volksoper, thinking it would be interesting to see what an American musical by Rodgers and Hammerstein would be like in German.
The play is set in 1938 in Austria as the Nazis are threatening to take over the country. After the overture, the curtain rose with Maria on an imaginary mountain top singing “The hills are alive…” in German. (Some of the dialogue and lyrics were translated into English and projected as “supertitles” above the stage, but not all). We learn Maria is a free-spirited young nun who is assigned to be a nanny to the Von Trapp family. There she meets the seven children and wins them over. After a chilly beginning, her relationship with their widower father blossoms into love and, in the end, she and the Captain marry. The family escapes the Nazis by fleeing to Switzerland. Along the way, we hear familiar songs including “Maria” (‘How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?’),” “I Am Sixteen Going on Seventeen,” “Climb Every Mountain,” “My Favorite Things,” “Do-Re-Mi”, “The Lonely Goatherd,” “Edelweiss,” and “So Long, Farewell.”
I did not realize until this performance how significant “Edelweiss” is in the story. I had assumed that it was a well-known Austrian folk song that was included in the production to give it authenticity. The tune and lyrics are simple:
Edelweiss, Edelweiss
Small and white clean and bright
You look happy to meet me.
Blossom of snow, may you bloom and grow
Bloom and grow forever
Edelweiss, Edelweiss
Bless my homeland forever…
As sung by the Captain, it reflects his deep love for his threatened country; in this production, his anxiety about his country’s future makes it hard for him to complete it.
When the curtain came up for the last act, we were startled to see the set. In the front was the simple stage where the Von Trapp family would be performing in the musical contest. But at the center rear of the stage was a huge red and black Nazi flag – I’m guessing it was 15-20 feet high. My sister and I had just spent five days in Berlin visiting many sites associated with the rise of Hitler and the extent of the terror and suffering he imposed on Europe, including the Holocaust. We had walked down the street where Hitler greeted crowds of admirers and stood at the site of his bunker where he spent his last days before committing suicide. We had been told that it was now illegal in Germany to make the “Heil Hitler” salute. And here we were in Vienna – where Hitler had spent his early years, and later came back as conqueror – and this massive swastika was glaring at us. The terror that Austria had lived through took center stage.
The action unfolds. Two characters greet each other with the Nazi salute, which was also jarring when we imagine there are people in the audience who had lived through that terror. In the contest the family sings “Edelweiss,” then “So Long, Farewell” as they make their escape. The scene shifts and the flag rises from the stage. The Gestapo pursues the family. They hide in a convent and the nuns help them escape. In the final scene they join hands and disappear into the mountains and towards freedom.
The curtain fell and the audience cheered. The cast came back to take their bows. Then the surprising thing happened – the cast led everyone in the theater in singing “Edelweiss.” They stood at the edge of the stage, the audience stood, and full-throated everyone was singing together. My sister and I couldn’t help but join in, thanks to the lyrics being projected above the stage. This was no longer a charming folk song about a little flower. It was a way to express a love of one’s country, the memory of being liberated from darkness, and the human passion for dignity and freedom. It was one of those moments when you go from looking at something to entering into it; you’re no longer a viewer but a participant.
After the performance, I learned that “Edelweiss” was not a traditional Austrian folk song, but an original number written by Oscar Hammerstein for the production and has gradually gained the affection of the Austrian people. A simple song in the right context can contain a powerful message; a small wildflower on an Alpine Mountain can become an abiding symbol of what we hold dear.
Double the pleasure-my two favorite bloggers in the same post! And it’s about music too.