Newland Archer, a successful young lawyer – tenor
May Welland, a young socialite, Archer’s fiancée – soprano
Countess Ellen Olenska, May’s cousin, recently arrived in New York from Europe,
after leaving her dissolute husband, the Polish Count Olenski – soprano
Mrs. Manson Catherine Mingott
matriarch of the Mingott/Welland family
and grandmother to May and Ellen – mezzo-soprano
Mrs. Augusta Welland, May’s mother – soprano
Mrs. Adeline Archer, Archer’s mother – mezzo-soprano
Mr. Sillerton Jackson, Newland’s boss at his law firm
and source of all knowledge of New York’s social scandals – bass-baritone
Mr. Lawrence Lefferts, a lawyer, known for his skills in surreptitious romance – tenor
Mr. Julius Beaufort, successful financier, notorious for his womanizing – baritone
Nastasia, Ellen’s maid – soprano
Charles Archer, Archer’s son – tenor
The Ladies and Gentlemen of New York society – SATB chorus (4–6 members per part) from which are drawn the roles of Margarita in Faust (act 1, scene 1) (soprano), the Archery Contest Judge (act 2, scene 1) (tenor) and a Maidservant (act 2, scene 3) (soprano).
Silent roles for the servants in the Archer and Mingott households, including Mrs. Mingott’s servant Blenker.
Place: Primarily New York City; secondarily Newport, Rhode Island (act 2, scene 1); Boston (act 2, scene 2); and Paris (act 2, scene 10)
Time: The 1870’s (except for the final scene of act 2, which takes place in the first decade of the twentieth century)