Nicoletta Rosellini Brings the Magic of “Evenstar” to Life

With her latest cover, Nicoletta Rosellini returns to the world of cinematic music and takes on one of the most delicate pieces from The Lord of the Rings: “Evenstar”.

The song was chosen by Nicoletta’s Ko-fi supporters, who once again helped decide which musical world the cover series would explore next. Their choice led to an intimate performance filled with longing, fantasy and quiet emotion, accompanied by a music video filmed in a real forest.

Rather than recreating a specific scene from the films, Nicoletta’s interpretation builds its own atmosphere. Surrounded by trees, natural light and the stillness of the woods, she appears as an elven figure whose story seems to exist somewhere between Middle-earth and reality.

Click on the image below to watch the video:

A musical portrait of Arwen and Aragorn

Composed by Howard Shore, “Evenstar” appeared on the soundtrack of the 2002 film The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. The original recording features solo vocals by Armenian Canadian soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian and is closely associated with the relationship between Arwen and Aragorn.

The title refers to Arwen’s epithet “Evenstar”, the English rendering of her Quenya name Undómiel. The name connects Arwen with the image of an evening star and with the twilight of the Elven age in Middle-earth.

Her love for Aragorn lies at the emotional centre of several of the trilogy’s quieter moments. In the films, their relationship is bound to a profound choice. Arwen must decide between leaving Middle-earth with her immortal people and accepting a mortal future beside the person she loves.

That knowledge gives the music its bittersweet character. Beauty and sadness exist side by side. Love is presented as something powerful enough to cross the boundaries between Elves and Men, but not without sacrifice.

The vocal text was written by Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens and translated into Sindarin by linguist David Salo. Even listeners who do not understand the Elvish words can still feel the emotional direction of the music through its melody, phrasing and fragile vocal lines.

An emotional interpretation in the forest

Nicoletta’s cover focuses on the restrained power of the composition. It is not a song that needs aggression or a dramatic transformation to make an impact. Much of its strength comes from the space between the notes and from the feeling that something deeply personal is being expressed without ever becoming excessive.

Her performance moves between tenderness, longing and an almost dreamlike calm. The vocal approach allows the melody to unfold naturally while preserving the ethereal quality that makes the original so memorable.

For the video, Nicoletta entered a real woodland setting in an elven costume, complete with pointed ears, a silver circlet and fantasy inspired jewellery. The sunlight filtering through the leaves gives the performance a natural cinematic quality, while the forest makes the connection to Middle-earth immediately recognisable.

Using a genuine outdoor location also gives the video a different character from a studio production. Small movements in the light, leaves and surrounding landscape help the performance feel alive, as though the song has briefly opened a doorway into another world.

Chosen by the Ko-fi community

Evenstar became this month’s cover through the support and votes of Nicoletta’s Ko-fi community.

The monthly polls allow supporters to participate directly in the cover series by choosing between songs suggested by members of the community. Their decisions can lead Nicoletta into very different musical directions, including metal and rock classics, pop songs, ballads and cinematic compositions.

This time, the community selected a song that reveals a quieter side of Nicoletta’s voice. It offered the opportunity to create something more intimate and atmospheric while still retaining the strong visual identity associated with her fantasy and metal projects.

Every supporter who voted for “Evenstar” helped turn the idea into a complete performance and video. The result is therefore not only Nicoletta’s interpretation of a beloved soundtrack piece, but also another project shaped together with the people who actively support her music.

August brings another journey into Middle-earth

The journey through The Lord of the Rings will continue with the August cover.

In the latest Ko-fi poll, “Into the West” by Annie Lennox received a clear majority with 65% of the votes. Puccini’s “Nessun Dorma” followed with 22%, while “Senza vento” by Timoria received 13%.

Originally released as the closing credits song for the 2003 film The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, “Into the West” was written by Annie Lennox, Fran Walsh and Howard Shore and performed by Lennox.

The song draws on Shore’s Grey Havens musical theme, which is associated with the journey west and the final departure from Middle-earth.

This gives the song a powerful sense of farewell, peace and returning home. While “Evenstar” is shaped by love and the decision to remain, “Into the West” looks towards the end of a journey and the hope of finding rest beyond it.

The song also carries a moving story from the real world. Its creation was partly inspired by Cameron Duncan, a talented young New Zealand filmmaker whose work impressed Peter Jackson. Duncan continued making films while battling cancer and died in November 2003 at the age of seventeen. The first public performance of “Into the West” took place at his funeral.

In 2004, “Into the West” won both the Academy Award and the Golden Globe for Best Original Song. It was one of the eleven Academy Awards won by The Return of the King, which won every category in which it was nominated that evening.

After the intimate love and longing of “Evenstar”, “Into the West” will take the cover series to the emotional conclusion of The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Its themes of departure, remembrance and peace offer a very different perspective on the world of Middle-earth.

The August cover will also continue a growing Tolkien theme on Nicoletta’s channel. On 31 May 2024, she released her version of Ed Sheeran’s “I See Fire” from The Hobbit. Together with “Evenstar” and the upcoming “Into the West”, this will bring the number of songs from Tolkien’s world on her channel to three.

Three songs, three journeys through Tolkien’s world

Although “Evenstar” and “Into the West” were both created for Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings films, they express very different emotions.

“Evenstar” is closely connected with love, choice and the bond between Arwen and Aragorn. “Into the West”, by contrast, looks towards departure, remembrance and the end of a long journey.

Together, the two Ko-fi community choices create a meaningful pair of covers. One centres on the decision to remain and love despite mortality, while the other explores farewell and finally letting go.

Nicoletta’s 2024 cover of “I See Fire” adds a third perspective. Its darker sense of danger and approaching conflict contrasts with the intimate longing of “Evenstar” and the peaceful farewell of “Into the West”.

The three performances therefore approach Tolkien’s world from different emotional directions. “I See Fire” reflects danger and uncertainty, “Evenstar” explores love and sacrifice, and “Into the West” offers remembrance, peace and the promise of a destination beyond the horizon.

With “Evenstar”, Nicoletta offers a heartfelt performance that respects the quiet beauty of the original while adding her own voice, visual identity and emotional interpretation. The real forest setting completes the atmosphere and turns the cover into a small journey of its own, chosen and made possible by the Ko-fi community.

Click on the image below to watch the video: