Carrie Underwood, the country music star, is set to take on the iconic role of Maria von Trapp in NBC's upcoming live broadcast of Rodgers and Hammerstein's The Sound of Music.
"To have a star like Carrie Underwood perform Maria in The Sound of Music - and in such a very special and unique production - is exciting beyond words," said Ted Chapin, president of Rodgers & Hammerstein.
"Part of the magic of Rodgers and Hammerstein is how their work has adapted itself to so many different incarnations, and I am certain the fresh spirit Underwood brings to her own songs will transition into exciting versions of the classic songs we all know and love."
Underwood has sold 15 million albums worldwide and won three female vocalist awards from both the Country Music Association and the Academy of Country Music.
Carried Underwood shot to fame after becoming the Season 4 "American Idol" winner." Underwood's previous acting credits were roles on TV's How I Met Your Mother, as the love interest of Ted (Josh Radnor), and, in her film debut last year, as a church leader in Soul Surfer, a coolly-received feature about real-life shark victim Bethany Hamilton.
Underwood is perhaps the biggest star to emerge from the show. "Smash" stars another "Idol" star, Katharine McPhee.
