More on Bikel

Here are two interesting videos of Bikel. In the first, he discusses his own role in the composition of Edelweiss:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDuFuetUsiI

The discussion of Edelweiss starts at about the 2 minute mark. It's a bit ironic that Bikel's proficiency as a singer led Rodgers and Hammerstein to write the song. Many of those who have subsequently performed the role have not been noted as singers. And the Captain himself did not typically perform with the Trapp Family singers. Christopher Plummer, for example, was dubbed for the song in the in the film:

http://www.npr.org/2012/11/24/165806779/the-unsung-overdub-star-in-sound-of-music

Back to Bikel. In this video, he discusses his family's emigration from Austria after the Anschluss.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IL7rEK14Bts&app=desktop

Bikel and his family left Austria perhaps a month before the von Trapps. In a later post, I hope to discuss the application of the term "refugee" to both families.