Maria (1959 song)
Encyclopedia
"Maria", sometimes known as "How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?" is a show tune
from the 1959
Rodgers and Hammerstein
musical
, The Sound of Music
.
This song is sung by the nuns at Nonnberg Abbey
, who are exasperated with Maria for being too frivolous and frolicsome for the decorous and austere life at the Abbey.
This song gave its title to Andrew Lloyd Webber
's reality TV series How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?
, 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
.
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. 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." 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.
Show tune
A show tune is a popular song originally written as part of the score of a "show" , especially if the piece in question has become a "standard", more or less detached in most people's minds from the original context...
from the 1959
1959 in music
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Rodgers and Hammerstein
Rodgers and Hammerstein
Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II were a well-known American songwriting duo, usually referred to as Rodgers and Hammerstein. They created a string of popular Broadway musicals in the 1940s and 1950s during what is considered the golden age of the medium...
musical
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
, The Sound of Music
The Sound of Music
The Sound of Music is a musical by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the memoir of Maria von Trapp, The Story of the Trapp Family Singers...
.
This song is sung by the nuns at Nonnberg Abbey
Nonnberg Abbey
Nonnberg Abbey is a Benedictine monastery in Salzburg, Austria.It was founded ca. 714 by Saint Rupert of Salzburg and is the oldest women's religious house in the German-speaking world...
, who are exasperated with Maria for being too frivolous and frolicsome for the decorous and austere life at the Abbey.
This song gave its title to Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber is an English composer of musical theatre.Lloyd Webber has achieved great popular success in musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 13 musicals, a song cycle, a set of...
's reality TV series How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?
How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?
How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria? was a British television talent series, that was broadcast on Saturday evenings on BBC One between 29 July and 16 September 2006. It documented the search for a new, undiscovered musical theatre performer to play the role of Maria von Trapp in the 2006 Andrew...
, in which TV viewers voted for a contestant to play the lead role of Maria von Trapp
Maria von Trapp
Maria Augusta von Trapp , also known as Baroness Maria von Trapp, was the stepmother and matriarch of the Trapp Family Singers...
in his London revival of The Sound of Music. Connie Fisher
Connie Fisher
Connie Fisher is a Welsh actress and singer, who won the BBC One talent contest, How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?...
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
London Palladium
The London Palladium is a 2,286 seat West End theatre located off Oxford Street in the City of Westminster. From the roster of stars who have played there and many televised performances, it is arguably the most famous theatre in London and the United Kingdom, especially for musical variety...
.
When Oscar Hammerstein II
Oscar Hammerstein II
Oscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II was an American librettist, theatrical producer, and theatre director of musicals for almost forty years. Hammerstein won eight Tony Awards and was twice awarded an Academy Award for "Best Original Song". Many of his songs are standard repertoire for...
wrote the lyric for this song, he followed the lead from a line in the dialogue that Howard Lindsay
Howard Lindsay
Howard Lindsay was an American theatrical producer, playwright, librettist, director and actor. He is best known for his writing work as part of the collaboration of Lindsay and Crouse, and for his performance, with his wife Dorothy Stickney, in the long-running play Life with...
and Russel Crouse
Russel Crouse
Russel Crouse was an American playwright and librettist, best known for his work in the Broadway writing partnership of Lindsay and Crouse.-Life and career:...
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. 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." 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.