as "an insult to Austrian musical creation." However, attitudes have improved as film tourism became a bigger attraction than Salzburg's attraction for being the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. When the musical premiered in Salzburg in 2011, most performances were sold out. Misconceptions The great popularity of the song has led many of its audience to believe that it is an Austrian folk song or even the official national anthem. However, Austria's official anthem is "Land der Berge, Land am Strome", and the anthem used from 1929 until the Anschluss was "Sei gesegnet ohne Ende". There is similar confusion about another song co-authored by Hammerstein, "Ol' Man River" from the musical Show Boat, which is widely (though erroneously) believed to be an African-American spiritual. The similarity between the misconceptions about the two songs has been noted by two writers, both of whom see it as testament to Hammerstein's talents. Alyson McLamore, in her book Musical Theater: An Appreciation, writes, "The last song to be written for the show was 'Edelweiss,' a tender little homage to a native flower of Austria that has the effect of authentic Austrian folksong, much as 'Ol' Man River' struck listeners as a genuine African American spiritual." Hugh Fordin, in his biography of Oscar Hammerstein, writes about "the ability of the authors to simulate the quality of an authentic folk song... 'Ol' Man River' had the ring of a black laborer's song... Thirty years later, 'Edelweiss' was widely believed to be an old Austrian song, though Oscar...composed it for the Sound of Music." Theodore Bikel, in his autobiography, Theo (2002), wrote that, after a performance, he was once approached by a native Austrian who said, "I love that Edelweiss" and then added, with total confidence, "Of course, I have known it for a long time, but only in German". Another misconception about the song is that it is a real-life Nazi anthem, even though "Edelweiss" is not a pro-Nazi song within the context of The Sound of Music, nor did the song even exist during the Nazi era. Legal problems The estates of Rodgers and Hammerstein have not authorized the use of alternative lyrics with the melody of the song, making certain commercial uses of those versions potentially infringing if they do not fall under fair use. Rodgers stated that "he would take legal action against any group" using the "Edelweiss" melody with altered words; the