Review: Geppetto (Emma Dean and Jake Diefenbach) Present ‘An End To Dreaming’
Saturday, July 14, 2012 at 10:54AM Contributed by Nikki Aitken.
Emma Dean and Jake Deifenbach make the duo Geppetto. I sit here listening to their CD ‘Into The Woods’ while I pen this. Not wanting to leave their gifts at the theatre, I had to bring them home with me and now plan to buy up every CD they offer, of which there are currently just a few.
From the moment they walk onto stage shrouded in their black cloaks to the moment they leave (and we wished they just wouldn’t) the audience were transfixed by their music and the energetic delivery they exuded into the Chapel off Chapel loft. Their show ‘An End To Dreaming’ only serves to prove that one should never stop dreaming. They navigate a set of ‘stages’ of dreaming with hauntingly mysterious and child-like evocations of melodies that only true musicians can.
Through the use of a baby grand and a keyboard hooked up to a macbook, they use texture in their music that made me wish the symphony orchestra were there to back them, for it is clear that Dean and Deifenbach can hear bigger orchestrations in their heads. They swap back and forth between multiple instruments (the two keyboards, a melodian and a violin) and Dean thrills us by playing said violin and singing at the same time; both performers are extraordinary, it’s that simple.
The power of their arrangements was exciting, the sincerity of their voices and the way in which they draw you into their beautiful story telling is incredible. With hardly a word spoken we were compelled to hold onto our dreams, and while you can find yourself in the dark, while it can be difficult to see your way through, dreaming is a glorious way to live. At one point, I literally had chills down my spine and it made me feel like I was listening to not only a cabaret, but a Cabaret Symphony. I have never seen work like this in all my life, emotional, technically brilliant and transporting all at once.
I am grateful to them both for sharing themselves and their stunning original music. Thank you ‘Geppetto,’ thank you with all my heart. You gave me an experience I will never forget.
Geppetto Present ‘An End To Dreaming’
Emma Dean and Jake Diefenbach
July 13 & 14 @ 10.30pm
Loft - Chapel Off Chapel
$33/$30
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