Vienna, where the film version of "The Sound of Music" was set 40 years ago, is finally hosting the theatrical version of the musical hit.

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The film version, starring Julie Andrews, was never shown in Austrian theaters and was only televised once late at night on a channel in the 1990s that few watched, the Scotsman reported Tuesday.

At Vienna's Opera House this weekend, Austrians will learn about the singing Von Trapp family, who fled the country after the Nazis took over in 1938 and were immortalized in the 1965 Rogers and Hammerstein musical.

Rudolf Berger, the company's director, conceded the production will have to overcome no small amount of native disdain.

But Renaud Doucet,the show's director, said the musical was "fantastically well written," with timeless and universal appeal.

Interest in the musical, which runs until June, has been strong. At the start of this month, some 18,000 tickets had been sold, the report said.