Giacomo Casanova
Trainee priest and aspiring writer, polymath and musician. A man of vast intellectual, creative and sexual energy, he is nevertheless plagued by depression and by an insecurity that the world may never take him, or his writings, seriously.
The Savorgnan Sisters - Nanetta & Marta
Outwardly innocent musicians and convent girls, they seduce Casanova while he is still a trainee priest and take his virginity.
The Three Inquisitors
Agents of the Venetian Inquisition, helping to suppress political and religious dissent.
Senator Bragadin
Venetian dignitary and socialite. He becomes besotted with Casanova and declares him his heir.
Father Balbi
A renegade priest and radical.
M.M.
An aristocratic nun. She is mistress to Cardinal de Bernis.
Cardinal de Bernis
French ambassador in Venice. Voyeur. M.M. is his mistress.
Manon Balletti
Cellist and later a courtesan. In love with Casanova and he with her.
Bellino
A woman masquerading as a man in order to work as a castrato (castrated male) singer. She and Casanova fall in love.
Madame de Pompadour
Mistress to King Louis XV and the most powerful woman in France.
Henriette
Dressed as a soldier in order to run away from an abusive husband, she is torn between her love for Casanova and that for her children.
Voltaire
The French writer and philosopher. He is everything Casanova aspires to be.
Photos taken by Emma Kauldhar.