The Haushofmeister, or Majordomo, is the only speaking role in the opera, thus emphasising his lack of involvement in the concerns of the rest of the characters in the prologue. Traditionally he is played with varying degrees of sneering, nasal cynicism, though there have been occasional departures from this approach, such as that of Rudolf Asmus.

Soprano role, almost always taken by a mezzo these days. The composer is a close relative of Octavian, and is a tragi-comic figure. Arriving at the beginning of the opera full of high artistic ideals and obviously naïve, he is destined over the next forty minutes to have his idealism crushed - something he doesn't take without a fuss. A good singer should be able to make the audience laugh at the character's inexperience and sympathise with his ideals simultaneously.

In the Molière play on which the prologue is based, he is Monsieur Jourdain's music teacher, and is pretty clearly interested in getting paid, rather than in his art. In Ariadne he is also the teacher of the composer and ex-teacher to the primadonna, and is a much more sympathetic character. He understands the composer's horror at the changes he is forced to make to his composition, but he is also mellowed by experience, and appreciates that every artist has to make compromises at some time in order to sustain his work and get it performed at all.

Counterpart to the music master, the dancing master (light tenor) is a shallower, flightier character, who is in agreement with the comedians that Ariadne will be a sorry entertainment for their patron's guests. He is astute enough to help persuade the composer to make cuts in the score, however, and knows how to flatter the artists, telling the tenor that only Ariadne's part will be scaled down.

Minor character, sung by a tenor. He visits Zerbinetta in her dressing room at the beginning of the prologue, his function being to demonstrate that she is as willing to flirt with admirers in real life as she is when on stage

Like the majordomo, the footman (baritone) is another member of M. Jourdain's staff who is distinctly sceptical about the entertainment being provided. He features mainly at the beginning where he shows a typical servant's obtuseness in the face of the composer's self-importance.

Minor character whose presence underlines the gulf between what one sees on stage during an operatic performance and what goes on behind the scenes. He has a brief altercation with the tenor who is to sing Bacchus, over the wig he is supposed to wear in the opera.

Sung by the soprano who sings Ariadne in the opera itself, the primadonna is Strauss's jibe at the behaviour of opera singers backstage. A terrible snob, she repeatedly declares herself a personal friend of the Count, though her demands to be allowed to see him are repeatedly ignored. She is primarily interested in getting to be on stage more often than the tenor, whom she clearly can't stand, and is horrified that she is expected to appear in the same performance as anyone so common as Zerbinetta.

Like the primadonna, the tenor (who will later sing Bacchus) is primarily interested in himself rather than his art. He is first seen refusing to wear the wig he has been given, and would clearly like to have Ariadne's part cut as much as possible so that he can have the stage to himself.

Although Zerbinetta, like the primadonna and the tenor, appears in the prologue as well as the opera, there is essentially no difference between her character on and off the stage. She is always lighthearted and flirtatious, and enjoys strings of male admirers. She is totaly unconcerned at the thought of blending her performance with that of an opera seria - she simply instructs her companions to sit in the wings and join in whenever the opportunity arises. The role of Zerbinetta is one of the most difficult soprano roles ever written. It goes up to a high F, and is full of complicated, ornamental phrases. Anyone who can sing it is quite likely to upstage the Ariadne, which seems rather fitting in the light of the primadonna's arrogance in the prologue. In the original 1912 version of the score, Zerbinetta's part was a tone higher for most of her big aria, and had even longer, more difficult lines than in the revised version. The best Zerbinetta I have ever heard is one who has not yet recorded the role - the American soprano Cyndia Sieden. I heard her sing the 1912 version of the opera at the Barbican Centre in London, and she turned in flawless performance that was absolutely staggering. I hope very much that somebody will record her in the part while she is still at her peak.

A baritone, and the most prominent member of Zerbinetta's troupe, a good Harlekin should be both funny but also quite sympathetic - he seems genuinely moved by Ariadne's grief.

Brighella takes the top line in the harlequinade. He is supposed to be 'young and clumsy'.

Second tenor among the comedians. He is described as a 'fifty-year-old trickster'.

The bass member of the dance troupe. He is a 'foolish old man'.

The role of Ariadne is probably even more difficult to cast successfully than Zerbinetta. It requires a soprano who can sing soaring phrases, but who can also reach to a low A. Much of her opening monologue is quite low-lying, and a singer who can make a success of the climaxes cannot aways succeed at these points as well. In addition, she has to be able to sound both grief-stricken and ecstatic, as well as youthful. Few exponents of the role have been totally successful.

All the soprano roles in Ariadne are difficult to cast, but perhaps the most uncastable role of all is the tenor role of Bacchus. Apart from his few lines in the prologue, the singer only gets about twenty minutes of music at the end of the opera, but those twenty minutes are exceptionally demanding, requiring a heroic voice capable of sounding youthful and of singing a painfully high tessitura at both low and high volume. Very few tenors have managed it, and usually the audience have to accept a compromise.

One of the three nymphs who attend Ariadne, she is a high soprano. The role is often sung by future Zerbinettas.

Second nymph on Naxos, she is sung by a mezzo.

Third nymph on the island, and another high soprano. Most of the time she echoes (not surprisingly) what the other two nymphs say, but also repeats phrases sung by Ariadne and Harlekin.