He is the nephew of the conductor Sir Charles Mackerras, and both are descended from the composer Isaac Nathan and Count Felix Sumarokov-Elston.
Boulez introduced Briger to Sir Simon Rattle, who invited him to conduct the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra.
[7] Briger's work with Opera Australia includes Jenůfa, Madama Butterfly, Così fan tutte, The Cunning Little Vixen, The Marriage of Figaro, and Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream.
[citation needed] In his native Australia he has conducted the Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, West Australian, Queensland and Tasmanian symphony orchestras.
[9][4][6][7] In 2011 he conducted their award-winning inaugural season at the Sydney Opera House with Beethoven's 9th Symphony, which was subsequently released on Deutsche Grammophon.
In 2016 Alexander Briger was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) "for services to the arts as a leading international conductor and founder of the AWO".