Johannes Debus

Johannes Debus has been Music Director of the Canadian Opera Company (COC) since 2009, having been appointed immediately following his debut. Outside of Toronto, Debus conducts regularly at the Metropolitan Opera, Bayerische Staatsoper Munich, Staatsoper under den Linden Berlin, Oper Frankfurt, and Santa Fe Opera.

Equally at home on the symphonic stage, Debus’s most recent engagements include performances with The Cleveland Orchestra; Houston, Baltimore, Seattle, Oregon, Milwaukee, San Diego, and Kansas City Symph onies; ORF Vienna and Frankfurt Radio Symphonies; Hallé; and the Symphony O rchestras of Bilbao, Spain, and Perth and Tasmania, Australia.

Debus graduated from the Hamburg Conservatoire before being engaged as répétiteur and, subsequently, Kapellmeister by Oper Frankfurt where he acquired an extensive repertoire from Mozart to Thomas Adès. As an advocate for contemporary music, he has collaborated with internationally-acclaimed ensembles such as Ensemble Intercontemporain, Ensemble Modern, Klangforum Wien, and Musikfabrik. He enjoys an ongoing relationship with the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto.