All the different characters that Aschenbach meets: the man by the cemetery, the old man dressed as a young man, the gondolier, the hotel manager, the barber, the leader of the actors and the voice of the God Dionysus are really like one character. They are sung by the same singer, a bass-baritone. Apart from him and Aschenbach (a tenor) the only other solo singer in the opera is the voice of Apollo, sung offstage by a countertenor as the boys play sport on the beach. There are several choruses: the groups of young people, hotel staff, actors, church choir and tourists.