In his early career, Roller was very active as a graphic designer and draughtsman. He designed numerous covers and vignettes for the pages of the Secessionist periodical Ver Sacrum, as well as the posters for the fourth, fourteenth, and sixteenth Secession exhibitions. He also designed the layout of the exhibitions themselves. Some of his work, particularly the lettering, influenced later psychedelic concert poster art.
In 1902 Roller was introduced to the composer Gustav Mahler by Carl Moll. Roller expressed an interest in stage design and showed Mahler several sketches he had made for Wagner's Tristan und Isolde. Mahler was impressed and decided to employ Roller to design the sets for a new production of the piece. The production, which premiered in February 1903, was a great critical success. Roller continued to design sets for Mahler's productions. In 1906 he married the Viennese Secession painter Mileva Roller and they had two sons: Dietrich (1909–2001) became a doctor, while Ulrich (1911–1941) became a stage designer and died in Stolpovo near Kaluga (in the Soviet Union) shortly after Christmas 1941.[2]
Eventually, Roller left the Secession and his teaching post at the Kunstgewerbeschule to be appointed chief stage designer to the Vienna State Opera, a position he held until 1909. He died in Vienna in 1935.
Greisenegger, Wolfgang (1989). "Alfred Roller: Neubedeutung des szenischen Raumes". Studia Musicologica Scientiarum Hungaricae (in German). 31 (1). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó: 271–281. ISSN1588-2888. JSTOR902336.
