Born in Naples, Carlo Lepore lives in Rome, where he studied singing with Alessandra Gonzaga and took a degree in law. He improved his knowledge of operatic repertoire with Paolo Montarsolo, Otto Edelman, Joe Giardina and Alberto Zedda. He was winner of several vocal competitions, such as “G.B. Pergolesi” in Rome and “A. Belli” of the Teatro Lirico Sperimentale of Spoleto (1992), where he performed for the first time the roles of Dulcamara and Leporello.

Guest in the most important European theaters and international festivals, Carlo Lepore has a large repertoire, in which we may underline many Rossini’a roles, such as Mustafà of L’Italiana in Algeri (Teatro alla Scala, Teatro Regio in Turin, Teatro Comunale in Florence, Semperoper of Dresden, Liège, Koln, Las Palmas, Teatro Auditorio Escorial in Madrid, Verona, Paris), Don Magnifico (Milan, Turin, Rome, Salerno, Colon of Buenos Aires, Geneva, Paris, Stuttgart etc.) and Alidoro (Marseille, Palermo) of La Cenerentola, the title role of Il Turco in Italia (Rome, Genoa, Turin), Basilio (Covent Garden, Madrid, Nancy, Liège, Venice, Ravenna, Palermo) and Bartolo in The Barber of Seville (Paris, Arena of Verona, Dresden, Buenos Aires, Strasbourg, Mulhouse, Bordeaux, Berlin, Palermo, Pesaro), Don Profondo in Viaggio a Reims (Antwerpen, cond. A. Zedda, Moscow), Blansac in La Scala di seta (Berlin cond. A.Zedda, Pesaro, Zurich, Verona), as well as Mozart’s roles such as Leporello in Don Giovanni  (Turin cond. C.Hogwood, Antwerpen, Savonlinna, Beijing, Lucca, Bergamo), Don Alfonso in Così fan tutte (Turin dir. E.Scola, London cond. Sir C.Davis, Koln, Novara, Ravenna, Piacenza) and Bartolo in The Marriage of Figaro (Houston, ROH cond. Sir A. Pappano, Glyndebourne, Teatro alla Scala and Tokyo, cond. R. Muti during a Japanaise tournée of the Wiener Staatsoper, Theatre des Champs-Elysées, dir. J. Gray), Donizetti’s roles of Dulcamara (Venice, Paris,Verona, Dijon), Don Pasquale (Beijing, Moscow, Verona), Podestà in Rossini’s La Gazza Ladra (Bari), Melitone in Verdi’s La Forza del Destino (Parma, Pisa), Falstaff at the Teatro Petruzzelli of Bari (dir. L.Ronconi, Festival Verdi of Parma and the Teatro Regio of Turin, cond. D. Renzetti and dir. D. Abbado), Geronte di Ravoir of Puccini’s Manon Lescaut (Teatro dell’Opera of Rome dir. Chiara Muti cond. R. Muti, Teatro Regio of Turin cond. G. Noseda, Teatro alla Scala, cond. R. Chailly), Gianni Schicchi in Turin, Paris (Opéra Bastille) and Sassari.

From his debut as Don Basilio of The Barber of Seville in Rome (1992), he was guest of the Teatro San Carlo of Naples, where he performed in Il Matrimonio Segreto of D.Cimarosa (Conte Robinson), Il convitato di pietra (Pulcinella) of G.Tritto, Le convenienze ed inconvenienze teatrali of Donizetti dir. R. De Simone, and finally at La Scala of Milan, at the beginning engaged for the role of Giorgio in Paisiello’s Nina, o sia la pazza per amore, conductor R. Muti, and then as Don Magnifico in Rossini’s La Cenerentola and Mustafà in L’Italiana in Algeri, both with the mise-en-scene of J.P.Ponnelle and the conduction of B.Campanella, C. Rovaris and O. Dantone. In the same Theatre Carlo Lepore achieved resounding success also in the role of Dulcamara in Donizetti’s L’Elisir d’Amore, cond. R.Rizzi Brignoli, Ping in Puccini’s Turandot cond. G. Prêtre and Bartolo of The Marriage of Figaro, cond. R. Muti.

Carlo Lepore has been guest of the Rossini Opera Festival of Pesaro for many years, where he played the roles of Hieros in Le Siège de Corinthe, Mustafà in Adina, Ginardo in Matilde di Shabran, directed by M. Martone, which was replayed at the Covent Garden, Capellio in Bianca e Falliero, Blansac in La Scala di Seta, cond. C. Scimone, dir. D. Michieletto, Gaudenzio in Il Signor Bruschino, Tarabotto in L’Inganno Felice, dir, G,Vick, Giorgio in Torwaldo e Dorliska (dir. M.Martone), Tobia Mill in La Cambiale di Matrimonio (cond. D.Korciak), Bartolo in  The Barber of Seville (dir. P.Pizzi), Don Pomponio in La Gazzetta (cond. C.Rizzi, dir. M.Carniti).

He was also Conte Rodolfo in Bellini’s La Sonnambula (Catania, Tokyo), Nonancourt in Il Cappello di Paglia di Firenze of  N. Rota at the Teatro Carlo Felice of Genoa, cond. B.Bartoletti, Colline in Puccini’s La Bohème (Cosenza, Bari), Sarastro in Zauberflöte at the Teatro Bellini of Catania (cond. Z.Pesko dir. W. Herzog), Pharaon in Mosè in Egitto (Montecarlo dir. P.Pizzi, Zurich), Gouverneur in Le Comte Ory in Genoa, Zio Bonzo in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly at the Arena of Verona.

Other roles of Lepore’s extended repertoire are Reverend Hylier in N.Rota’s La Visita Meravigliosa, Trofonio in Salieri’s La Grotta di Trofonio (performed in Lausanne and Poissy, cond. C.Rousset), Signor La Rocca in Verdi’s Un Giorno di Regno at the Opera Theatre of Nancy, Seneca in Monteverdi’s L’Incoronazione di Poppea (Geneva, Caën, St. Pölten) and those of more rare operas, such as Il Socrate Immaginario of G.Paisiello (Teatro alla Scala), Celos aun del Aire matan of J.Hidalgo from a libretto of Calderon De la Barca, which opened the Opera Season of Teatro Real di Madrid in 2001, Le Astuzie Femminili of  D.Cimarosa (role of Giampaolo Lasagna), Orfeo of A.Sartorio, Gli amori di Apollo e Dafne of  F.Cavalli, Euridice of J.Peri at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Aretusa of F.Vitali, Sansone of B.Ferrari, San Giovanni Battista (Erode) of A.Stradella, La Locandiera (Don Pomponio) of P.Auletta, Don Chisciotte of R.Solci, Il divertimento dei Numi of G.Paisiello, La Dirindina of D.Scarlatti (Don Carissimo), L’impresario delle Canarie (Nibbio) of G.B.Martini, and other more popular roles such as Ariodante (King of Scotland), Polyphemus in Acis and Galatea, Achilles in Julius Caesar and Zoroastro in Orlando of G.F.Händel.

He took part in the movie Io, Don Giovanni,dir. by Carlos Saura in the role of  Commendatore and in A.Anderman’s production Cenerentola, una favola in diretta, music of G.Rossini, cond. G.Gelmetti, dir. Carlo Verdone, worldwide broadcasted by Rai1, in which he played the role of  Don Magnifico.

Carlo Lepore carries out also an intense concert activity. He sung in the Petite Messe Solemnelle of G.Rossini at Teatro Filarmonico of Verona (cond. R. Gandolfi), in the Rossini’s Stabat Mater in Valencia, Luxembourg, Paris and Messa di Gloria, cond. Sir A.Pappano at the Auditorium Parco della Musica in Rome, in the Vivaldi’s Tito Manlio (Brussels, Barbican Center of London, cond. O.Dantone) and La Senna Festeggiante (New York cond. R.Alessandrini, Barcelona cond. J.Savall), Eumelio of A. Agazzari at the Settimana Musicale Senese, Le tre ore d'agonia and Passio of G.Giordani in Macerata. He also performed at the Konzerthaus of Berlino with the ensemble “I Febi Armonici”, at the Innsbruck Festival with the conductor A.De Marchi, at the Ravenna Festival with lieder of Wagner and Bellini, at the Terme di Caracalla with the Chicester Psalms of L.Bernstein cond. D.Oren, in Lugano with the Stabat Mater of F.J.Haydn and Le ultime sette parole di Cristo sulla croce, cond. D. Fasolis for the Radio Svizzera Italiana. He sung the Winterreise of F.Schubert in Spoleto, Todi and the Teatro Ghione of Roma,Un canzoniere italiano of E.Wolf-Ferrari at the Wexford Opera Festival.

Recently in Pesaro he performed with a programme including arias of Mozart, Rossini and Donizetti with the Woodwind Nonet of the Teatro Comunale of Bologna.

His discography includes Nina, o sia la pazza per amore of G.Paisiello cond. R.Muti (Ricordi), Rossini’s operas Matilde di Shabran (Decca) and Bianca e Falliero (Dynamic), La grotta di Trofonio of A.Salieri cond. C.Rousset (Ambroisie), Haendel’s Sansone, Radamisto (Virgin) and Ariodante cond. A.Curtis, Pergolesi’s intermezzos Livietta e Tracollo cond. O.Dantone and La Serva Padrona cond. C. Rovaris, Isacco of  N.Jommelli performed in Salzburg, which is going to be published by Decca, the Oratorio per la Santissima Trinità of A.Scarlatti, cond. E.Velardi (Bongiovanni) and the recital "Non solo buffo" with the pianist Giovanni Velluti (Bongiovanni), Rossini’s Stabat Mater cond. G.Gimeno (Harmonia Mundi) and Messa di Gloria cond. by a.Pappano (Warner Classics), which was awarded in 2023 by the jury of the International Classical Music Awards.

In 2012 he received the Prize Tiberini d’oro with the following motivation: “for an authentic ample and deep bass voice, for the technical ability in the presentation and performing of characterized roles of the opera buffa and dramma giocoso as well as serious roles of the Italian opera”.