By MELISSA MEEHAN
SANDRA Willis was lucky to have a life full of culture and the arts when she was growing up.
Her parents would take her to the opera every now and then and she soon realised she was the only one of her friends who had the opportunity to do so.
For many, the opera was out of reach – meant for the more affluent in life, not necessarily those in the west of Melbourne.
Since then, Sandra has worked for a range of companies in the arts industry – but her true love has always been the opera.
“I grew up in Williamstown, which is where I have returned to after living in Sydney for over 15 years,” she said.
“I went to school in Altona/Newport and also in Werribee. My family has always been from the western suburbs; my father grew up in Footscray.
“So I guess I have used my experiences for a reason to get opera out there, in communities who might not have had it readily available before.”
Ms Willis is manager of Oz Opera and also sits on the Regional and Touring
Arts Programs Expert Assessment Panel, whose main role is to make opera accessible to everyone in Australia.
Previously, she was the company manager of internationally acclaimed ‘Priscilla, Queen of the Desert’ and for the Bell Shakespeare Company.
Oz Opera is the touring leg of Opera Australia, which sees smaller versions of large production opera packed into trucks and taken around the country.
She also manages smaller tours which visit schools.
“I just love the fact we are able to take these shows which have traditionally been something only the wealthy have had access to, to small country towns and give people a show,” she said.
“Opera is for everybody … I just love that I am a part of it.”
