"Maria" | |
---|---|
Song | |
Released | 1959 in The Sound of Music |
Genre | Showtune, Classical, Religious |
Composer(s) | Richard Rodgers |
Lyricist(s) | Oscar Hammerstein II |
"Maria", sometimes known as "How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?", is a show tune from the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The Sound of Music (1959).
This song is sung by the nuns at Nonnberg Abbey, who are exasperated with Maria for being a "flibbertigibbet"; they say that she is frolicsome for the decorous and austere life at the Abbey.[ citation needed ]
The titular question is paraphrased with metaphorical questions, such as: "How do you catch a cloud and pin it down?"; "How do you keep a wave upon the sand?"; and "How do you hold a moonbeam in your hand?". These rhetorical questions on problems that cannot be solved act as proof that a problem like Maria is equally intractable.[ citation needed ]
When Oscar Hammerstein II wrote the lyric for this song, he followed the lead from a line in the dialogue that Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse wrote in their script, describing Maria's flighty ways in the Abbey. In particular, he was taken by the detail of her wearing curlers in her hair under her wimple. [1] Hammerstein asked if he could incorporate their dialogue into the song, and they allowed him to do so because: "If you tell a story in a song, it's so much better." [2]
When writing the lyric, Hammerstein knew he needed adjectives for the nuns to describe Maria. He admitted that his vocabulary was never big, but the simple adjectives he used to describe Maria's character proved a success. [3]
This song gave its title to the Andrew Lloyd Webber reality TV series How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria? (2006), in which TV viewers voted for a contestant to play the lead role of Maria von Trapp in his London revival of The Sound of Music. Connie Fisher won the TV series and was cast as Maria in the London revival of the show that opened in November 2006 at the London Palladium.[ citation needed ]
The Sound of Music is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, The Story of the Trapp Family Singers. Set in Austria on the eve of the Anschluss in 1938, the musical tells the story of Maria, who takes a job as governess to a large family while she decides whether to become a nun. She falls in love with the children, and eventually their widowed father, Captain von Trapp. He is ordered to accept a commission in the German Navy, but he opposes the Nazis. He and Maria decide on a plan to flee Austria with the children. Many songs from the musical have become standards, including "Do-Re-Mi", "My Favorite Things", "Edelweiss", "Climb Ev'ry Mountain", and the title song "The Sound of Music".
Rodgers and Hammerstein was a theater-writing team of composer Richard Rodgers (1902–1979) and lyricist-dramatist Oscar Hammerstein II (1895–1960), who together created a series of innovative and influential American musicals. Their musical theater writing partnership has been called the greatest of the 20th century.
A rhetorical question is a question asked for a purpose other than to obtain information. In many cases it may be intended to start a discourse, as a means of displaying or emphasizing the speaker's or author's opinion on a topic.
Flibbertigibbet is a Middle English word referring to a flighty or whimsical person, usually a young woman. In modern use, it is used as a slang term, especially in Yorkshire, for a gossipy or overly talkative person.
"Edelweiss" is a show tune from the 1959 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The Sound of Music. It is named after the edelweiss, a white flower found high in the Alps. The song was created for the 1959 Broadway production of The Sound of Music, as a song for the character Captain Georg von Trapp. In the stage musical and its 1965 film adaptation, Captain von Trapp and his family sing this song during the concert near the end of Act II, as well as a statement of Austrian patriotism in the face of the pressure put upon him to join the navy of Nazi Germany following the Anschluss. It is also Captain von Trapp's subliminal goodbye to his beloved homeland, using the flower as a symbol of his loyalty to Austria. In the film version, the song is additionally sung by the Captain earlier in the film when he rediscovers music with his children.
"Some Enchanted Evening" is a show tune from the 1949 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical South Pacific. It has been described as "the single biggest popular hit to come out of any Rodgers and Hammerstein show." Andrew Lloyd Webber describes it as the "greatest song ever written for a musical".
The Sound of Music is a 1965 American musical drama film produced and directed by Robert Wise from a screenplay written by Ernest Lehman, and starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer, with Richard Haydn, Peggy Wood, Charmian Carr, and Eleanor Parker. The film is an adaptation of the 1959 stage musical composed by Richard Rodgers, with lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and a book by Lindsay and Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir The Story of the Trapp Family Singers by Maria von Trapp and is set in Salzburg, Austria. It is a fictional retelling of her experiences as governess to seven children, her eventual marriage with their father Captain Georg von Trapp, and their escape during the Anschluss in 1938.
How Do You Solve a Problem like Maria? is a British reality television talent show that documented the search for an undiscovered musical theatre performer to play the role of Maria von Trapp in the 2006 Andrew Lloyd Webber and David Ian stage production of The Sound of Music.
Siobhan Patricia Dillon is an English actress and singer, who rose to fame when she performed in the British talent show-themed television series How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria? on BBC One in 2006. Since then, Dillon has performed in the West End, playing the roles of Sandy in Grease at the Piccadilly Theatre, Vivienne Kensington in Legally Blonde at the Savoy Theatre, Sally Bowles in Cabaret, Molly in Ghost the Musical at the Piccadilly Theatre, Ellen in Miss Saigon, and Betty Schaefer in Sunset Boulevard with the English National Opera. Siobhan reprised this role at the Palace Theatre in New York City.
Connie Fisher is a British actress, singer and TV presenter, who won the BBC One talent contest How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?
"Do-Re-Mi" is a show tune from the 1959 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The Sound of Music. Each syllable of the musical solfège system appears in the song's lyrics, sung on the pitch it names. Rodgers was helped in its creation by long-time arranger Trude Rittmann who devised the extended vocal sequence in the song.
Aoife Mulholland is an Irish actress and musical theatre performer from Salthill, Galway. Aoife is a successful leading lady in London's West End. She has starred as Roxie Hart (twice) in Chicago, at the Cambridge Theatre and for 18 months as Maria von Trapp in The Sound of Music at the London Palladium; and as Brooke Wyndham in Legally Blonde at the Savoy Theatre. She has also appeared in concerts, films and several popular TV series.
Abigail "Abi" Finley is an actress and musical theatre performer from Prestwich, Greater Manchester, England, the daughter of a prominent local Jewish performer.
Helena Blackman is a British musical theatre actress, best known for being the runner-up in the hit BBC1 Reality TV programme How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?.
Eye of the Gorgon is the second serial of the first series of the British science fiction television series The Sarah Jane Adventures. It first aired in two weekly parts on the CBBC channel on 1 and 8 October 2007. The episode makes references to classical mythology.
"Climb Ev'ry Mountain" is a show tune from the 1959 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The Sound of Music. It is sung at the close of the first act and is sung again in the epilogue of the second act by the Mother Abbess. It is themed as an inspirational piece, to encourage people to take every step toward attaining their dreams.
How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria? was a 2008 Canadian reality competition television series derived from a 2006 series of the same name broadcast on BBC One in the United Kingdom. The Canadian version aired on CBC Television between June 15, 2008, and July 28, 2008.
The Trapp Family is a 1956 West German comedy drama film about the real-life Austrian musical family of that name directed by Wolfgang Liebeneiner and starring Ruth Leuwerik, Hans Holt, and Maria Holst. Based on Maria von Trapp's 1949 memoir, The Story of the Trapp Family Singers, the film is about a novice nun sent to care for the unruly children of a wealthy baron, who falls in love with and marries the young woman. Through her caring influence, the family becomes a famous singing group. When the baron is pressured to join Hitler's navy, the family escapes to the United States, where they establish themselves as singers.
Bea Ballard is a British television executive producer. She is chief executive of 10 Star Entertainment, a production company set up in 2009 with investment from Fremantle. She is the daughter of novelist J. G. Ballard.
The Sound of Music Live! is an American television special that was originally broadcast by NBC on December 5, 2013. Directed by Rob Ashford and Beth McCarthy-Miller, produced by Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, and written by Austin Winsberg, the special was an adaptation of Rodgers and Hammerstein's 1959 Broadway musical The Sound of Music. The television special starred country singer and American Idol winner Carrie Underwood as Maria von Trapp, and was performed and televised live from Grumman Studios in Bethpage, New York.