Tilman Hecker was born in Karlsburg in 1980. During his studies at the University of the Arts in Berlin and the École des Beaux Arts in Paris he started working with Robert Wilson and Achim Freyer as assistant director and collaborator. Hecker made his directorial debut with the Mozart opera Mandy’s Baby at Radialsystem V (Berlin) in July 2009. Other directing credits include Narcissus and Echo by Jay Schwartz (Salzburg State Theatre/Operadhoy Festival, Madrid), La Finta Giardiniera by John Cage (Berlin State Opera Werkstatt) and The Secret Marriage by Domenico Cimarosa (Nordhausen and Aschaffenburg Opera). Most recently he directed a new work for the Deutsche Oper Berlin/Tischlerei based on Querelle de Brest by Jean Genet, composed by Birke Bertelsmeier. Upcoming projects include I Capuleti e i Montecchi at Staatstheater Karlsruhe and Midnight, a new piece for the Radialsystem V Berlin and the Mozartsommer Mannheim. Grants received are the Berlin Stipendium of the Academy of Arts Berlin, Musiktheater heute Stiftung Deutsche Bank and the Académie européenne de musique, Festival d’Aix-en-Provence.