and sent to the gulag. he was brought up in kazakhstan.me 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 debris, trying to make sense of what happened. >> you really did have passengers from all over the world, diana. japan, colombia. and i think we found out yesterday, there were three american on board, as well. >> reporter: that's right. we know a little bit about two of those americans. a marine college graduate, emily selky, and her mother, yvonne, traveling on the p