David Alden is one of the world's most influential and prolific directors. His work in opera has been recognised with many prestigious awards, such as the South Bank Show Award for his production of Britten's Peter Grimes, or his three Olivier Awards, most recently in 2018 for his Rossini's Semiramide at Covent Garden in London. He also receives the Bavarian Theatre Award for Individual Artistic Achievement, which marks a long-standing relationship with the Bayerische Staatsoper. Highlights of the past season include the staging of Anna Bolena in Zurich, Lohengrin at Covent Garden and Le Ballo in maschera at the Metropolitan Opera.

Film and television credits include a version of Schubert's Die Winterreise with Ian Bostridge and Julius Drake, Weill's Die Siebe Todsünden, the Welsh National Opera's production of L'incoronazione di Poppea and a documentary on Verdi for the BBC.