Canadian chef Jordan de Souza, born in Toronto, trained in Montreal, signed a contract on Tuesday making him Generalmusikdirector (GMD — general director of music) of the city of Dortmund, Germany, from autumn 2025 and for a period of five years, has learned The duty. This title makes him responsible for the opera, named “best opera in Germany” in 2022, and the symphony orchestra, the Dortmunder Philharmoniker.
Jordan de Souza gleans this position the year he turned 35. Last May, barely a month after his appearance at the head of the orchestra which had aroused enthusiasm in extracts from Porgy and Bess by Gershwin, by The sea by Debussy and of Tomb of Couperin of Ravel, during which he also conducted the members of the Czech Philharmonic Choir of Brno, it was rumored that the conductor had become the main candidate of the city councilors looking for a new musical director. But there was still a long way to go since the negotiations in Germany notably involve political authorities, in this case the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
“I will direct four opera productions per year, plus five of the season’s ten concerts. But I will, from the first year, put down roots in the city and accept fewer outside invitations,” says Jordan de Souza, contacted Tuesday evening in Dortmund. “I have to anchor myself in society, I’m going to direct concerts for the family. There are also operas for young people: I want to delve into that. » All in all, the chef thinks he is busy 50 evenings a year in his city. “I also want to try things. As I told politicians, experience and quality come first, but innovation is also important. »
I also want to test things. As I told politicians, experience and quality come first, but innovation is also important.
German dream
Jordan de Souza will be the sole master on board to preside over the destiny of the orchestra and will share the responsibilities and decisions on the lyrical side (commitment of directors, singers) with the intendant of the opera. “I had offers in North America and France, but I wanted my first major position to be in Germany, since it brings together orchestra and opera with great freedom, even for concert formats. Even though we have a wonderful concert hall, I will work on ways to get the orchestra out of its hall. »
In a May 2022 interview with THE Duty, the man we have nicknamed since 2016 “the 100,000 volt gentleman of classical music”, called to conduct in Germany, England and North America, was wondering about his future: “I am at home in an opera house . Teamwork is very important, as is family life in a city without having to always travel. »
Already in May 2022, the Canadian conductor, who wanted to balance lyrical and symphonic repertoire, did not have words strong enough to praise the achievements of Kapellmeister’s experience, that of bringing conductors into the pit night after evening to conduct repertoire at the opera. For decades, this was the natural path to fame (Karajan, Böhm, Szell, etc.). Karajan was, at 27, the youngest GMD in Germany, Furtwängler was 29 when he was appointed to Mannheim. Böhm got his job at the age of 33 in Darmstadt.
Jordan de Souza’s career has been strongly established in Europe for several years, starting with his appointment as principal conductor of the Berlin Comic Opera, where he worked between 2017 and 2020 alongside the sultry director Barrie Kosky at productions that attracted significant attention.
Married to soprano Jana Miller, father of two young children, Jordan de Souza has seven brothers and sisters. His parents, who came to Montreal from India in the 1970s, moved to Toronto in the 1980s, where he was born in 1988. Jordan then moved to Montreal at the age of 17 to train in music , notably at McGill University. He started in Montreal during his studies, in 2008, as leader of the Saint-Andrew and Saint-Paul church.
In Dortmund, Jordan de Souza will notably succeed Wilhelm Schüchter, Marek Janowski, Hans Wallat and Moshe Atzmon. He will be able to take advantage of a very remarkable room, the Konzerthaus, and will have to move from hockey to soccer, because Borussia Dortmund and its yellow jersey, eight times German champion and great competitor of Bayern Munich, is an institution very comparable to the Canadians.