Philippe Jordan was something of a prodigy, holding conducting posts from age 20 and leading major operatic productions by his early thirties. He also conducts orchestral music and performs as a pianist. When Jordan was 20, he became first kapellmeister at the Ulm Stadttheater in West Germany. He also served as an assistant to Jeffrey Tate, who conducted at various houses in Paris, and later to Daniel Barenboim at the Berlin State Opera. In 2003, Jordan made his recording debut on a BBC production of Bizet's Carmen. In 1995, he became music director of the Opéra National de Paris, in 2009, as the youngest conductor ever to hold the post. He remained there until 2021. By 2024, when Jordan conducted a recording of Wagner's Parsifal with the Chorus and Orchestra of the Vienna State Opera, his recording catalog comprised some 30 items.