La mise en scène est dure et matraque le cœur malgré une grande finesse pour les yeux. Heureusement la musique, en noblesse, enveloppe depuis la fosse. À la tête de l’Orchestre Symphonique de La Monnaie, Jordan de Souza livre une lecture nerveuse et ample de la partition de Puccini. Sur le fil de l’emphase, le chef canadien cultive le contraste, ménage les respirations et offre de belles amplitudes émotionnelles.
Olyrix, Soline Heurtebise
Dirigent Jordan de Souza stimuleert het orkest tot finesse en detail om Puccini’s bijzonder rijk gekleurde orkestratie te realiseren, wat van de voorstelling een absoluut indrukwekkend totaalspektakel maakt.
Klassiek-Centraal.be, Lucrèce Maeckelbergh
Jordan de Souza, d’origine canadienne, et installé en Allemagne, collabore à cette occasion pour la première fois à la Monnaie, et avec succès : à la tête d’une formation fidèle à son excellent niveau de jeu habituel, le chef met en valeur l’écriture et l’orchestration de Puccini, tirant de la partition une exécution ferme et intense. Le chef et l’orchestre contribuent tout autant que la distribution à la réussite musicale de cette reprise.
ConcertoNet.com, Sébastien Foucart
Back for his second Lyric appearance, conductor Jordan de Souza is in total command here, assuring a lively flow to the action and drawing the best from the singers onstage and the Lyric Orchestra in the pit.
Chicago Sun-Times, Kyle MacMillan
But this week’s Minnesota Orchestra concerts are a celebration of Bach that goes from intimate to expansive. Nine works are on the program, seven of them by Bach and two inspired by his music. If it’s an authentic 1700s sound you seek, go catch a concert by Lyra Baroque or the Bach Society of Minnesota. In the orchestra’s performance, Bach’s music is seen through a 20th- and 21st-century lens, his music rearranged under the influence of romanticism and adventurous instrumentation. It added up to something tremendously rewarding at Thursday’s midday concert at Minneapolis’ Orchestra Hall. Led with a balance of grace and gravitas by Canadian conductor Jordan de Souza, the concert blended respect for the composer and imaginative explorations of what he might have done with an orchestra of almost 100 musicians at his disposal…The concert’s first half focused on what happens when Bach’s music meets a mandolin. The second half was about what happens when it’s unleashed by a full orchestra. After a modernist collage by American composer Betsy Jolas (“Letters From Bachville”), three works originally written for organ were heard in the orchestrations of Edward Elgar, Leopold Stokowski and former Minnesota Orchestra music director Stanislaw Skrowaczewski. The latter’s version of the popular Toccata and Fugue in D Minor helped open Orchestra Hall in 1974, and Thursday’s performance served as a reminder of what a masterful orchestrator the maestro was. Each collection of instruments did its best imitation of a set of organ pipes. The performance was as much of an adrenaline rush as Gustav Mahler’s arrangements of Bach orchestral suites were rapturously beautiful.
Minnesota Star Tribue, Rob Hubbard
Making his company debut in the pit, Jordan de Souza presided impressively over Spears’s often gorgeous score.
Opera News, David Shengold
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Jordan de Souza is General Music Director of Theater Dortmund and Chief Conductor of Dortmunder Philharmoniker. As one of the most sought-after conductors of his generation, his varied and dynamic schedule appearing with many of the world’s great opera houses, symphony orchestras, and festivals demonstrates the burgeoning profile of the native Canadian and the enthusiasm he garners on leading stages.
The conductor’s 2026-27 international diary reflects a season-long arc of breadth and artistic vision. Highlights include a new production of La bohème for the Norwegian Opera & Ballet, three new productions in Dortmund – Hänsel und Gretel, the rarely staged Guercœur, and Tannhäuser – illustrating his versatility across the mainstream repertoire and his commitment to bringing neglected masterworks to the stage – and symphonic programming with the Dortmunder Philharmoniker that is equally ambitious, featuring works by Aucoin, Beethoven, Britten, Debussy, Mahler, Nielsen, and R. Strauss.
Highlights of past operatic seasons include Tosca in a new production by Ted Huffman at Glyndebourne as well as a revival production by Rafael Villalobos at La Monnaie / De Munt, productions of La bohème at the Canadian Opera Company, Komische Oper Berlin, and Lyric Opera of Chicago, a new production of Don Carlo at the Royal Danish Opera, Der Rosenkavalier at Garsington Opera, La périchole at Theater an der Wien, new productions of Tristan und Isolde for Seattle Opera and Rigoletto at Houston Grand Opera, and Turandot at Deutsche Oper Berlin. On the symphonic stage, Jordan de Souza has led programs with the Minnesota Orchestra, The Philharmonia, National Arts Centre Orchestra, Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, and BBC National Orchestra of Wales.
Jordan de Souza studied conducting at McGill University, Montreal. His positions have included Conductor in Residence of Tapestry Opera – the only Canadian company solely dedicated to creating and performing original Canadian opera – and First Kapellmeister of Komische Oper Berlin collaborating closely over many years with renowned director Barrie Kosky.
The artist now lives in Dortmund with his wife and two young children.
La Monnaie / De Munt, Tosca
London Symphony Orchestra: Martial Sauvé's Symphony No. 3
National Arts Centre Orchestra, Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6, "Pathétique"
Dutch National Opera, Carmen
Komische Oper Berlin, Pelléas et Mélisande
Musical Insights: Der Rosenkavalier, "Di rigori armato" (Italian Tenor)
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