Fiordiligi - Soprano
A young woman in her early/mid 20s; sister of Dorabella and partner to Guglielmo. Not a very naturally self-confident person, a lot of her inner strength comes from her deep emotional (perhaps even soppy) bond with Guglielmo so his ‘departure’ affects her greatly. She comes across as the more emotional and vulnerable of the two sisters.
Dorabella - Soprano/Mezzo Soprano
Sister of Fiordiligi (around the same age) and partner to Ferrando. She is far more self-confident than Fiordiligi and her relationship with Ferrando is more physical and flirtatious. She is fiery and has little patience which influences her, being the first of the sisters to give in to the ‘new’ suitors.
Ferrando - Tenor
Around mid-20s, partner to Dorabella and good friend of Guglielmo. He is full of bravado, confidence and rebellious swagger. While he does love Dorabella, he generally hides his emotions well behind fiery flirtation. His relationship with Dorabella is a great source of pride for him which leads him to act very competitively around Guglielmo.
Guglielmo - Baritone
Partner to Fiordiligi and good friend to Ferrando (with whom he is a similar age). His relationship with Fiordiligi is very emotional (even soppy) so despite getting caught up in the excitement of Don Alfonso’s cruel trickery, his deep understanding of Fiordiligi-knowing how horribly it will affect her-does sadden him. When around Ferrando he feels he has to put on an image of swagger so while he is also hugely competitive, a lot of his bravado is pretense.
Despina - Soprano
A younger cousin of Fiordiligi and Dorabella, aged around 16/17. She is fairly streetwise having led a bit of a ‘hard-knock life’ and is very confident. She is cheeky and mischievous (in more of a scamp way, rather than sadistic) and enjoys being part of Don Alfonso’s game, trying to convince the women to get together with the ‘new’ suitors. Despite thinking she is very mature, she enjoys the childish element of dressing up as various fabricated characters and putting on silly voices.
Don Alfonso - Bass/Baritone
An old philosopher, well into his 60s. He is a well-respected man within the community for his impressive intellect but due to the oppressive nature of the country and time period in which he now lives, he is forced to repress his talent for fear of getting into serious trouble. This, along with the fact that he will have loved and lost over a long life, has led him to alcoholism and made him rather bitter and sadistic.