Secco, born in Milan, studied piano and singing with Alberto Soresina, and also trained with Franco Corelli, Franca Mattiucci, Leyla Gencer and Renata Scotto.

He has sung in all the major Italian opera houses, credits including Rodolfo (La bohème) in Bologna, Parma and Rome, Duke of Mantua (Rigoletto) in Turin and Florence, Pinkerton (Madama Butterfly) in Rome, Osiride (Mosè in Egitto) in Verona, Cavaradossi (Tosca) for the Torre del Lago Festival and Alfredo (La traviata), and Macduff (Macbeth) for La Scala, Milan.

International engagements included Rodolfo, Gabriele Adorno (Simon Boccanegra), Don Carlo, Macduff (Macbeth), Hoffmann (Les Contes d’Hoffmann) and Alfredo for Paris Opéra, Rodolfo (Luisa Miller) for Bavarian State Opera, Duke of Mantua in Toulouse and Frankfurt, Cavaradossi in Hamburg, Des Grieux (Manon) and Nemorino for Liceu, Barcelona, Macduff for Teatro Real, Madrid, Roberto Devereux and Werther for Vienna State Opera, Rodolfo and Des Grieux in Geneva, Edgardo (Lucia di Lammermoor) for Deutsche Oper Berlin and in Beijing, Pinkerton for San Francisco Opera and Gabriele Adorno for LA Opera.