28 February] 1878) was a Russian operatic bass-baritone of great range and renown, whose career centred on St Petersburg.
His career was one triumph after another, and he created a number of important roles in Russian operas, by composers such as Dargomyzhsky, Glinka, Mussorgsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Anton Rubinstein, Tchaikovsky and others.
On 21 April 1876, on the stage of the Maryinsky Theatre, he was presented with a gold medal, the personal gift of Tsar Alexander II.
The President of the Russian Musical Society, the Tsar's uncle, Grand Duke Konstantin, presented an address in his honour.
[1] Tchaikovsky wrote a Cantata (Hymn) on the Occasion of the Celebration of the 50th Jubilee of the Singer Osip Afanasievich Petrov, for tenor, chorus and orchestra, with words by Nikolay Nekrasov.