Nikolai Dmitriev (Дмитриев Николай Михайлович)
Nikolai Dmitriev (1946-2012) studied first at the Gnessin Russian Academy of Music for one year and then went to Ukraine and entered the Odessa Conservatory. There he learned from Olga Blagovidova, a renowned teacher who trained many successful opera singers. He then went on to become a soloist of the ensemble under Anatoly Ivanovich Poletaev.
Though Dmitriev had a beautiful voice, he has left few recordings due to illness. When he was a little more than 30 years old, he contracted arthritis, and until his death bravely fought the disease. Because of illness, he left the operatic stage very early and focused mainly on teaching. During his last years he lived in Moscow, teaching from his home. Dmitriev died in February 2012, shortly before his 66th birthday.