He was born on 16/9/1949 in New York and is the twin brother of Christopher Alden, also a director. He studied at the University of Pennsylvania and launched his directing career with the Opera Omaha in the 1970s. He is one of the most important directors internationally, best known for his post-modernist sets. He has collaborated with the leading opera houses of Europe (Frankfurt Opera, Welsh National Opera, Bavarian State Opera, Paris Opera, Komische Oper Berlin, Dutch National Opera, New Israeli Opera) and the USA (Metropolitan Opera in New York, San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Houston Grand Opera, Santa Fe Opera). During the 2007/08 season, he directed for the GNO the opera Simon Boccanegra (Athens Concert Hall). He has won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Director for the productions of Tristan and Isolde [Tristan und Isolde] and Jenůfa, staged by the English National Opera, as well as the Bavarian Theater Prize for his numerous productions at the Bavarian State Opera, including The Ring of the Nibelung [Der Ring des Nibelungen], Lulu and many other baroque operas by Monteverdi, Cavalli and Handel.