He felt that the metaphors of climbing mountains and fording streams better fitted Maria's quest for her spiritual compass.
"[3] In addition to that, while Peggy herself was an accomplished singer earlier in her career, the song was simply too difficult for her to perform at that age.
Given the range of the piece and the average age of the actor playing Mother Abbess, the oldest character in the story, the song has proven daunting for many actresses over the years.
[5] In addition, due to the long instrumental introduction of the song, Wood was repeatedly unable to catch the first word lip synching to McKay's playback.
So they filmed the beginning part of her performance in silhouette against the wall of the set for the Mother Abbess' office with her back to camera.