Zeliha Berksoy

Zeliha Berksoy was born in Istanbul in 1946. After graduating from the Theater Department in the Ankara State Conservatory, she started working at the Ankara State Theatre in 1965. In 1967 she worked as a directing assistant at the Schiller Theatre, one of the Berlin State Theatres. She also worked as an assistant at the Berliner Ensemble Theatre. In 1970’s Berksoy returned to Turkey and acted the role of “Ayşe” in the play “Asiye Nasıl Kurtulur?” Since then she has acted in various plays and musicals at numerous national and international theatres such as Ankara Birlik Theatre, Dostlar Theatre, Bakırköy Municipality Theatre and Istanbul City Theatre. She has attended many theater festivals and received various awards. Besides acting in many plays, Berksoy has performed in many films.

After retiring in 1974, Berksoy began teaching as a stage tutor at the Opera Department of the Istanbul State Conservatory. In 1978 she contributed to the founding of the Theater Department at the Istanbul State Conservatory. Since 1978 she has served as a Chair of the Theater Department at the State Conservatory of Mimar Sinan University.

In 1990 Berksoy established the Bakırköy Municipality Theatre and worked as a general art director for 5 years. Because of her contribution, she received an award from the International Association of Theatre Critics. In 1990, with some close friends, she founded Semiha Berksoy Opera Foundation where she serves as director. Since 2005 she has also served as director at the Beşiktaş Platform for Culture and Art. In 2014 Berksoy received a Sakip Sabancı Lifetime Achievement Award.

Reference: semihaberksoyoperavakfi.org, tr.wikipedia.org, sabancivakfi.org