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with her mother yvonne from the selke's heart broken home a family statement remembering two, wonderful, caring people who meant so much to so many. neighbors in disbelief. >> i'm still kind of shocked. we are just a small little community and i'm very sad. >> reporter: another american was on board the state department said but no name has been released yet. the world of opera has lost two star voices, maria radner, who was flying with her husband and their baby, and oleg bryjak. ♪ and then pain of tears and flowers for the 27 tenth graders and two teachers lost in the crash. >> one of your students died? >> yes. linda. she is 15 1/2. i can't realize it. it is so, so sad and cannot believe this, what happened. >> reporter: this school has released the names of the students and teachers who died in the crash and have issued a
lights. ♪ oleg bryjak had been a member since 1996. remembered as much for his acting as the unique range and quality of his voice. >> there are some voices which, if you don't see the person, you can't always know -- you can't always tell who it is. with oleg, you could always tell. it was his individual sound. that sound we'll never forget. >> reporter: bryjak had been in barcelona singing in a role he received huge acclaim from last summer in germany's panthon to vagner. the pinnacle of a career for a man who'd had a troubled start this life but who tackled life's challenges, his colleague said, with humor and compassion. >> his father was considered to be a german spy.
and sent to the gulag. he was brought up in kazakhstan. and then he came to the west and -- i think in the meantime he's taken german citizenship. >> reporter: he learned of bryjak's death during the opera. backstage, the ensemble together since 1999. "when oleg came to work, the first thing that arrived through the door was his big heart, and we will miss that," she says. bryjak of flying back with his star maria radner, returning with her husband and child. opera talents cut down in their prime. there were so many who lost their lives, whose talents were only known to their friends and relatives. and it's for all of their sake, the relatives also, that rescue workers now pick through the
they were performing on the rhine. maria radner and oleg bryjak. joining us on the phone is a friend of oleg. we are so sorry for the news. how are you doing? >> i am in a complete shock. nobody knows how to deal with it. >> yes, understandable. so many lives were lost. and can you tell us about oleg as an artist as a man? >> well he was an incredibly warm heart and generous artist and friend. he was at home and i mean he has been with the ep semable since 1996 -- ensemble since 1996 and sung the repertoire
>> reporter: among the others silenced here 34-year-old opera singer maria radner who was traveling with her husband and baby. radner had just completed performances in barcelona with her colleague, oleg bryjak who died alongside her. >> this is tearing a huge gap and there will be scars left over. >> reporter: at this headmaster's school in germany, they are mourning the loss of 16 young students and two instructors. one teacher was recently married. the other, engaged. >> they had plans for their life and that was changed from one minute to the next. like a burst the bubble. >> reporter: the school group had just finished an exchange program at this school in spain. outside, two students mourned over their final photo with their friends.
tomorrow across the country to remember those lives. and we spoke to the creative director of the dusseldorf opera house which is steps from where i am standing. they lost a cast member -- oleg bryjak was one of the main singers, in the company for well over ten years and they said his heart was as big as his baritone and the entire company right now is certainly feeling this loss. they don't feel up for singing, they've canceled rehearsals and are trying to understand what happened and remember their friend. thomas. >> there still remains a hunt for answers in all of this and so many families left devastated around the globe and back here at home the confirmation of three americans lost on board. nbc's katy tur. thanks so much. coming up next we'll continue the breaking coverage of the plane crash in the alps and we'll talk about the latest in technology on planes that help increase flight safety.
opera singerers and the two infant infants that were killed. >> terrible. thank you, frederik pleitgen, for reporting. people on the board include two claimed two opera singers maria radner and oleg bryjak. they had performed all over barcelona. they were on their way home. bryjak had been affiliated with the ensemble there since 1996. he performed on stages all over the world. luis fernando piedra is colleague and friend. joins me tonight. i'm so sorry for your loss. >> it has been a little bit