Çetin İpekkaya was born in Turkey in 1937 and studied acting and directing in France. Since 1961 he has been working as a director, theatre director, actor and docent (Dr. phil.) in Turkey and Europe. In 1984 the German Academic Exchange Service DAAD invited him to Berlin. With friends, he started the migration theatre Tiyatrom. Since 2000 he has become well-known due to his film and TV roles. He was commissioned to write the libretto for Taner Akyol’s children’s opera Ali Baba und die 40 Räuber together with Marietta Rohrer-İpekkaya. This piece had a successful world premiere at the Komische Oper Berlin in 2012, has remained in the repertoire and is also available as a book and CD combination.
