Sydney Opera House chief executive officer Louise Herron on learning the cello, Sydney Ferries, stand-up paddleboarding, and a grand old institution’s 50th birthday celebration
Having been the CEO of the Sydney Opera House for over ten years, Louise Herron has overseen two major anniversaries for the Australian icon – and has collected more than a few stories along the way.
My sleep schedule lately has been … vastly improved. Because it‘s the month of the Opera House’s 50th anniversary, and I’ve made a commitment to myself to simply enjoy it. We’ve basically spent 11 years getting to this point: planning for the 40th anniversary, planning for the decade of renewal, planning for the 50th, and now we’re here.
The thing I do to relax away from the Opera House is … stand up paddle board surfing. Just before Covid we bought a house in Merimbula – which by chance, we ended up spending a fair bit of time there during the lockdown. And just right outside our house, there’s Bar Beach and there’s this fabulous little break. And someone said to me, I should try stand up paddle board surfing there. And my sons and I learned together how to do it. And I just, I dream of it.
The strangest work offer I’ve ever received was … let me show you one that I got this morning. I don’t want to seem ridiculous, but I do get them so often. So this guy – I have no idea who he is, but I‘ve been corresponding with him. He sends me this thing this morning:
“Hello, Ms Herron. You might recall we discussed by email the Opera House and the late Queen. Just so you know, I nominated one of the ferries to be named ‘Louise Herron AO’. Let’s hope this is approved.”
It’s kind of nice, because there was a ‘Lady Herron’ ferry. And the reason that ferry was named ‘the Lady Herron’ was because my great uncle was the Chief Justice, and it was the practice – certain ferries were named after the Chief Justice’s wife. I’m not promoting this! Right? Not for a moment. I’m just answering your question.
Something you wouldn’t expect about my job is … the range of people that I will deal with in a day or a week. So I will deal with engineers, architects, heritage people, politicians, bureaucrats in the New South Wales Government, trustees, some of our 1000 staff, a security guard and a safety consultant, a construction manager, a First Nations artist … [you’re] the third journalist.
My office is full of … Eero Saarinen chairs. He was the Finnish architect who pulled [Jørn] Utzon’s design out of the discard pile, when they were originally selecting the design for the Sydney Opera House. And when the Opera House opened there were Saarinen chairs, intended to be in the boardroom. And then about 10 years or so ago … we have a big focus on heritage, and we were talking about new chairs in my office and in the boardroom. And someone suggested these chairs, and I just loved the nod to the history of the building. And they’re supremely comfortable. I’m very small, and they’re very good, and we have people of all shapes and sizes. You come in here and everyone always says just how comfortable they are. Not everybody likes the colour, but I love the colour.
My favourite artist is … Catherine Hewgill, who is the principal cellist of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. And my cello teacher. And my best friend. In 2019, I really wanted to learn the cello. And it was [after] the final concert of the SSO, before the concert hall closed. Catie had had a couple of glasses of wine, and so had I. And I went up to her and I said, “you know, I really want to learn the cello.” And she said, “I’ll teach you.” And we just spent the weekend together, playing the cello. She’s just marvellous.
I owe my personal success to … I have to say my father, Bruce. I’m probably not delighted to say that. He was... he had a tough life. He was extremely disciplined, and extremely keen on people making the most of their lives. And he sort of gave me the resilience to keep on going. Whenever you’re trying to do something, (he would remind me to) just think about: “Okay, I have to go through a bit of pain to get there, but that’s okay, because that’s where I want to get to.” And that is worthwhile. Renewing the Sydney Opera House for future generations: that is a worthwhile thing. So I‘ll do what it takes to get there, take a team with me, and we’ll get there. And we have.
The Sydney Opera House’s Birthday Festival takes place at various times at the SOH this month.
