The Swiss-Turkish mezzo-soprano Céline Akçağ, born and raised in Zurich, works as a freelancer in Europe and lives in Berlin. Her opera appearances range from typical roles in her Fach such as Rosina (G. Rossini), Carmen (G. Bizet), Hansel (E. Humperdinck), Sesto, Cherubino and Dorabella (W.A. Mozart) to lesser-known roles such as Boulotte (Barbe-bleue, J. Offenbach), Vanina (L'Ancêtre, C. Saint-Saëns) or Aloès (L'Étoile, E. Chabrier) and world premieres such as "Der Mordfall Halit Yozgat" (Ben Frost). She has sung a.o. at the Zurich Opera House, Landestheater Linz, the Hanover State Opera, Komische Oper Berlin, Theater Ulm, Theater Lüneburg, Prinzregententheater and Cuvilliés-Theater Munich, the Baden-Baden Easter Festival, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Hall and the small Berlin Philharmonie. A particular recent highlight for her was the production with the European Opera Centre as Ciesca (Gianni Schicchi, G. Puccini) with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonics under the direction of Domingo Hindoyan (conducting) and Bernard Rozet (direction), with Sir Bryn Terfel in the title role. Concert highlights include the alto roles in 'Das Lied von der Erde' (Mahler) with the Lüneburg Symphony Orchestra, 'Petite messe solennelle' (Rossini) with the Munich Chamber Opera, and 'Missa Solemnis' (Beethoven) at the Tonhalle Zurich. On the CD recording of the baroque ensemble "La Banda" under the direction of Robert Mehlhart, she sang the alto solo of Bach Cantata 147 (Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben). ​Since the beginning of her career, a lively song activity has been part of it. Her programmes reach far beyond the standard repertoire, as she always aspires to create thematically relevant programs with female and male, known and lesser known composers. As a Liedduo with Rebeka Stojkoska, she won the 2nd Prize at the Int. Sibelius Singing Competition 2025 in Järvenpää, Finland, as well as the Recognition Prize at the Karlsruhe Int. Competition for 20th and 21st Century Song. She won a special prize at the "Grand prix de la voix - Les nuits de l'hippodrome" in 2025, and was a finalist at the Bundeswettbewerb Gesang in 2022 and at the International Anton Rubinstein Competition in 2021. She is the 2019 and 2020 Migros Kulturprozent study prize winner. She completed a Bachelor's degree in opera, concert and pedagogy at the Freiburg i.Br. University of Music (Prof. Dorothea Wirtz), a semester abroad at the Royal Academy of Music (Mary Nelson and Iain Ledingham), a Master's degree in music theater/opera singing at the Theaterakademie August Everding (KS Prof. Andreas Schmidt), the Master of Concert Singing at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Munich (KS Prof. Christiane Iven and Okka von der Damerau), as well as a Postgraduate Liedduo at the Universität Mozarteum Salzburg (Prof. Pauliina Tukiainen). Master classes with Marlis Petersen, Thomas Hampson, Vesselina Kasarova, Ian Bostridge, Alessandro De Marchi, Hartmut Höll, Susan Manoff, Anne Le Bozec, Erica Switzer, Melanie Diener, Prof. Claudia Visca, Prof. Ulrike Sonntag, Tobias Kratzer, Gerd Uecker and Nadine Secunde have expanded her training.