Michele Carreca was born in Foggia and graduated in lute at “Conservatorio Santa Cecilia” in Rome with Andrea Damiani in 2006. He attended master classes held by Paul O’Dette and in particular by Hopkinson Smith, wich has been a main point of reference for his studies.
As a soloist and as chamber musician Michele Carreca has played for Gesellscahft der Musikfreunde in Wien in the Musikverein Wien, Brahms Saal, at the Europäische Wochen Festspiele Passau (Germany), “I Concerti del Quirinale di Radio 3” (Rome), “La Stanza della Musica” and “Piazza Verdi” (Rai Radio 3), “Trigonale Festival” (Austria), “Early Music Alberta” (Canada), “Stockholm Early Music Festival” (Sweden), “Festiwal Muzyki Dawnej” Jarosław (Poland), “Festivalul Baroc” Timisoara (Romania), “Festival Camino de Santiago” (Spain), Istituto Italiano di Cultura New York City (United States), Festival “Musique et Memoire” (France), the Staedel Museum in Frankfurt (Germany), the Alte Pinakothek in Munich (Germany), the Italian Cultural Institute in Munich (Germany), Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum Braunschweig (Germany), Festival Antiqva, Barcelona (Spain), the Juan March Foundation in Madrid (Spain), for the National Gallery in London (Great Britain), “Festival international de musique andalouse et des musiques anciennes” in Algiers, (Algeria) “Mostra Internacional de Musica Antigua” in Curitiba, Brazil, for Universidade Federal in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), for the European Early Music Day of Rema, in Uzghorod (Ucrain), “Festival der Laute” in Dresden (Germany), “Nuove Settimane Barocche” in Brescia, “Urbino Musica Antica”, “Accademia Filarmonica Romana” in Rome, “World Bach-Fest” in Florence, “Echi Lontani” Festival in Cagliari, “Segni Barocchi” in Perugia, the concert season of “Centro di Musica Antica Pietà dei Turchini” in Naples, “Musica ai Frari” in Venice, etc.
In Baroque operas and orchestras he played under the direction of John Eliot Gardiner, Andrea Marcon, Alessandro De Marchi, Chiara Banchini, among others.
He has made recordings both as a soloist and as a continuo performer for Deutsche Grammophon, Sony-DHM, BrilliantClassics, Classic Voice-Antiqua, Continuo Records, Ipsar, Rai Trade, Urania Records.
In 2014 the label Continuo Records published the cd “Mr Dowland’s Fortune”, dedicated to the lute music of John Dowland.
He has given master classes and concert-lessons for numerous institutions, such as Conservatorio di Foggia, Conservatorio di Pescara, Dams Univeristà Roma Tre, Universidade Federal do Estado do Rio de Janeiro.
Michele Carreca lives in Rome and is Professor of Lute and early plucked instruments at the Conservatory A.Scarlatti (previously V.Bellini) in Palermo.
His last recording works are “Henriette the Princess of the Viol” with Maddalena Del Gobbo viola da gamba, for Deutsche Grammophon, and “Giacomo Gorzanis : Solo lute music” as a soloist for Sony-Deutsche Harmonia Mundi.