Pavel Kudinov was born in the Russian city of Dimitrovgrad and studied at the Conservatory in Saratov. Competition triumphs include the 1997 Moscow Romaciada, the 2001 Dresden Opera Competition, the Vienna Hans Gabor/Belvedere Competition and, in May 2004, first prize in the International Ferruccio Tagliavini Singing Competition in Graz. He joined the Samara Opera and Ballet Theatre in 2000 and appeared in 2001 with the Moscow Helikon Opera, moving in 2002 to the Vienna Volksoper, where his rôles included Zuniga (Carmen), Sarastro and The Speaker (Die Zauberflöte), Colline (La bohème), Lefort (Zar und Zimmermann) and the Turk in Il turco in Italia. He appeared in Ruslan and Ludmila in Karlsruhe and in 2003 as Heinrich in Lohengrin at the Spoleto Festival dei Due Mondi. Other appearances include, in 2004, Verdi’s Requiem, and the rôle of Pimen in Boris Godunov in Basle.