Male or Female?

Hello everyone again!

Recently I came across a delicate problem - I needed to write a message to a person whose name was known to me, however, the first name was very unusual, and it was impossible to tell whether it was a male or a female one. So I began my letter with 'Dear Sir/Madam' with subsequent apologises about this manner of addressing and confessions that I didn't know his/her uncommon name gender. It finished ok for the person said: 'No problem, I'm female', but does anyone know another way? I mean, how do you start a letter when you know the person's name (so you can't use 'To whom it may concern') but don't know sex?

Regards,
Bubr.

I thought it would be better to add that it was impossible to pretent that I didn't know the name because I recieved an email from her several days before.

Actually, I mentioned it in the message that started the thread. In the end I wrote: 'Dear Madam/Sir!', apologised for this kind of addressing, and admitted I didn't know if her name was male or female. She replied 'No problem, I'm female', but I am afraid that someone more tetchy could have been insulted.

To tell the truth, I considered the form you suggested, but I wasn't sure if it was possible to use both first and last names after 'Dear'. Yes, I think 'Dear James Smith' is more polite. Thanks.

So, everybody feels fine about it; consequently, this usage is correct. Otherwise, the term 'correct' should be re-defined . Thanks, I think my question has been answered ultimately.