Carmen Monarcha is a Brazilian soprano singer. Born into an artistic family in northern Brazil, her father is a writer and her mother, Marina Monarcha, a renowned Brazilian singer. She learned from a young age to play the cello and the piano and at first trained to be a concert cellist. However, she began to develop her singing voice and commenced taking lessons in Brazil. During the course of her career in music she became acquainted with fellow Brazilian singer, Carla Maffioletti. After finishing her schooling, she and Maffioletti went to Maastricht, the Netherlands, for further vocal training. While there, Monarcha was hired as a vocalist by orchestra leader Andr� Rieu to tour Europe and the United States with his Johann Strauss Orchestra. She stole many hearts while performing the "Vilja Song" from Franz Leh�r's operetta The Merry Widow. She received critical acclaim as a winner at the Bidu Say�o Vocal Competition, a major international singing competition held annually in Brazil that is named in honor of that country's most famous opera singer, Bidu Say�o. 

August 27th, 1979 in Belém (Age 44)