Audra McDonald wowed an audience of more than 18 million viewers on the live, televised broadcast of The Sound of Music on NBC last Thursday, portraying the Mother Abbess in the famed musical to great critical acclaim.

McDonald "has been pretty much unanimously appointed the show-stealer of the night," says TIME magazine. The Christian Science Monitor says "McDonald was a majestic Mother Abbess."

"If this woman does not receive an Emmy for her performance in this, there is something severely wrong with the world," exhorts Peter Mac in the Huffington Post. "She simply shines. Her rendition of 'Climb Ev'ry Mountain' is exquisite! She is a performer of the highest caliber."

The Los Angeles Times's Sherry Stern says: "The golden pipes of McDonald, playing the Rev. Mother, opened the broadcast, but her memorable scene came later, singing 'Climb Ev'ry Mountain,' one of Rodgers and Hammerstein's most enduring numbers from their 1959 Broadway musical."

See for yourself in this video of McDonald's performance:

On her latest album, Go Back Home, released earlier this year on Nonesuch Records, Audra McDonald performs another beloved song from The Sound of Music: "Edelweiss." You can take home a copy in the Nonesuch Store, where CD orders include an instant download of the complete album and are now 35% off the standard retail price (about 20% off the everyday low prices listed on the site) as part of the current Nonesuch Store anniversary sale.