Prize-winner at the Warsaw International Competition (1992, Grand-prix), the All-Russian Competition in Perm (1993, 3rd prize) and the Tokyo International Competition (1993, Mignon 3rd prize).
Graduated from the Urals State Musorgsky Conservatoire (class of Professor Golyshev). While still a third-year student, was invited to join the Yekaterinburg Theatre of Opera and Ballet where he performed the most famous roles in the baritone repertoire, among them Escamilio (Bizet?s Carmen), Valentine (Gounod?s Faust), Don Carlos, Ferdinand (Prokofiev?s Betrothal in a Monastery), Alfio (Mascagni?s Cavalleria rusticana) and Tonio (Leoncavallo?s I pagliacci).
Became a soloist with the New Opera in 1993. His performances of roles from the Russian and Western European opera repertoires earned him great renown throughout Moscow. Among these roles were Talbot in Donizetti?s Maria Stuardo, Don Carlos in Verdi?s La forza del destino, Ruslan in Glinka?s Ruslan and Lyudmila, Francesco Foscari in Verdi?s Due Foscari and the title role in Rubinstein?s The Demon, Gellner in Catalani?s La Wally and Eugene Onegin in Tchaikovsky?s Eugene Onegin. Toured with the Theatre to Germany, France, the USA and Yugoslavia. Also with the Bolshoi Theatre since 1996.
His repertoire on the stage of Mariinsky Theatre including: Messenger (The Tale of Tsar Saltan), High Priest of Dagon (Samson et Dalila), Count Monterone (Rigoletto), Michele (Il tabarro), Amfortas (Parsifal), Kurwenal (Tristan und Isolde).