Soprano Melba Ramos was born in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico. She received her vocal education at the Pablo Casals Conservatory of Music in San Juan, Puerto Rico. In 1987 she was awarded the first prize of the District metropolitan Opera Auditions and that same year made her official stage debut as Despina in Mozart's Cos� fan tutte. She won again the first prize in the 1988 and 1990 District Metropolitan Opera Auditions. From 1989 to 1992 she was a member of the Opera Studio of the Opera of Cologne and worked there with renowned conductors and stage directors such as James Colon, Michael Hampe and Jurgen Rose. Her first engagement brought Melba Ramos to the Wuppertal Opera, where she excelled in roles such as Titania in Brithen's A Midsummernight's Dream, as Gilda in Verdi's Rigoletto, as Lucia in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor and as Pamina in Mozart's The Magic Flute. This latter role also marked her debut with the Komische Oper Berlin and brought her to Spain, singing in Gran Teatro Liceu Barcelona, Teatro Principal en Valencia and Teatro de Santiago de Compostella. At the Komische Oper in Berlin she guested as Pamina in The Magic Flute and as Li� in Turandot. 

January 1st, 2000 in Puerto Rico (Age 24)