The Sound of Music

“The Sound of Music” is a perennial favourite, and productions as good as this one make it easy to understand why.  The musical is packed with terrific songs, features a large family of charming children, and even taps into this nation’s enduring fascination with the Second World War.  Above all, this is a musical about the transformative power of love; of how it can reveal itself in unexpected places and in unexpected ways.  I have seen “The Sound of Music” many times, but this production brought home to me, as never before, how love of country, love of family, the love of God and a person’s love for another human being can be interwoven into such a powerful and uplifting story.

The strength of the storytelling is made possible by the coherence of the characterisation, and the production benefits from exceptional performances in three critical roles.  The portrayal of Maria Rainer was quite wonderful: the nervous novitiate metamorphoses into a confident governess and an assured baroness, but the development of character is so well judged, so incremental, that we believe in her throughout.  This was also an impressive technical performance; Maria has a clear tone and diction so her dialogue skipped along easily and her songs were heart-warming and often joyful.  There was empathy with the children, some humour at times, and her hopes and fears as she comes to terms with the changing nature of her relationship with the Captain were tremendously well observed.

Captain Georg Von Trapp was similarly well portrayed.   The transition from whistle-blowing disciplinarian to protective family man can seem clunky and improbable, but here careful interpretation of the dialogue helps us to understand that his early parenting style is a response to the loss of his first wife as he brings the skills that have served him well in the Austrian navy into a new and less appropriate context.  Maria shows him that there is another way in which to bring up his children, and the Captain slides into love rather than falling with a bump.  He sings well enough, as the role demands; his appropriately restrained performance of “Edelweiss” allowed the song’s simplicity and emotional power to do the work, and his faltering half way through felt like an genuine response rather than a manipulative act.

When Maria is confused and frightened as she realises that she is falling in love with Georg, she runs back to the Abbey to talk to the Mother Abbess.  This role was played with tremendous warmth and authority, and advice was dispensed with love and kindness.  I had forgotten just how challenging “Climb Ev’ry Mountain” is to sing – I had to check the vocal score when I got back home and it really is as high as an Alp – but this Mother Abbess demonstrated that she had the power and range to do justice to such an iconic song.

This was a very traditional staging, expertly realised.  The director succeeded in drawing excellent performances out of so many members of the company, and made good use of the wide but relatively shallow stage.  This was a production that had real heart, and in which the central love story was brought expertly to the fore.  I’m happy to report that I was on my feet at the end, along with most of the audience, and joined in with the closing chorus of “Climb Ev’ry Mountain” with everyone else.

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.