STAFF PICKS: David Green

I’m David Green—Sr. Vice President and COO.
Which performance are you most looking forward to and why?
Moby Dick—I am thrilled to see our organization take the lead on building a new production that will be shared across the country. This opera has been staged in other parts of the country and internationally, but it’s the first time it will take the stage in Janet Quinney Lawson Capitol Theatre. We’re building the entire set and costumes and re-envisioning the production for other companies like ours.
I’m also excited about the Utah Symphony | Utah Opera’s new Family Nights. This will make it easier and more fun for young families like mine to enjoy live, classical music.
Two adults and two children can get into any of our events for just $30, and you can add up to 6 more children (ages 5-18) for just $5 each—it’s about the same price as taking your family to a movie, but instead they get to hear moving melodies and get lost in beautiful stories.
What do you recommend doing before or after the show?
This is going to be a wonderful night. I certainly want to make it a special experience for my family. I have four children, three of which are old enough to appreciate this great work. They love the opera already and love to dress up and go with a friend when they can.
But for this opera, if I were to dream up the perfect evening, it would just be the family. I would pick them up (all ready to go) at 5:30 PM and have dinner before we go to Janet Quinney Lawson Capitol Theatre. Maybe we would go to the Copper Onion or Market Street or even Takashi. We’d have a great conversation over dinner which would include what they are about to see and why it is important, etc. The opera begins at 7:30 PM sharp but we are early, in our seats and ready to go. At intermission, we go people watching, which is always great fun. Everyone has a wonderful evening and the opera leaves us all with something to talk about on the way home, something to question, and something to consider.
But then there’s reality… I dash home after work to find my daughter taking a nap, my son playing video games, and just maybe one kid doing homework. My wife is just finishing up teaching her last piano student and yells out to the kids “get dressed! Remember we are going to the opera tonight!” I chime in that we have to leave in 30 minutes or we’re going to be late. Thirty minutes come and go and then another 30 and my hopes of eating at a nice place have been dashed. It’s a tumult of hair, makeup, I can’t find my shirt, which shoes…? It’s all a disaster in motion. To what end? I don’t know.
Finally, we are in the car and we hit rush-hour traffic. It takes a bit to get downtown so on the way we consider the options and decide we only have time for fast food. I suggest Crown Burger but someone else wants pizza and the two girls want Thai. I say we have no time so we end up at Wendy’s where we scarf down a meal with little to no conversation. Then off to the Janet Quinney Lawson Capitol Theatre. As we run to our seats I am secretly hoping the opera begins at least five minutes late but, alas, it starts on time and we just make it to our seats as the orchestra finishes tuning. Whew, that was a close one!
But then without fail something magical happens and all the chaos leading up to the performance becomes worth it. Something else takes over. It’s no longer my responsibility and my job is done. My family is entertained, challenged to think, immersed in beautiful melodies, and wowed by amazing sights and sounds. They are comfortable and sometimes uncomfortable; happy and sad, coming away with more than I had even hoped for.