Contino

Contino is an eclectic roots music band from Las Vegas, Nevada, consisting of Pete Contino on accordion, Billy Truitt on keyboards, Al Ek on guitar and harmonica, Jim Lovgren on drums and Rob Edwards on upright bass. Their lively and distinctive mixture of blues, Americana, rockabilly, and zydeco have been earning them an ever-growing fan base both in North America and Europe. Back Porch Dogma is their Blind Pig label debut, features a guest appearance by singer Maria Muldaur.

La finta giardiniera was a resounding success: after the first performance 1774 in Rome, the opera was translated into several languages and staged in many other European cities and inspired Mozart to write an opera of the same title. This world premiere recording by the ensemble l'arte del mondo shows the exceptional skills of this little-known composer. The Spanish Catalan soprano Nuria Rial is famous for her shining, crystal clear and beautiful voice and is one of the best baroque voices for baroque arias. She was described as "a silvery sounding voice, as clear as a bell."

Le nozze di Figaro has been Glyndebourne’s signature opera since the company was founded in 1934 and Glyndebourne is responsible for bringing Mozart back into the currency of English musical life. An obvious choice with which to launch Glyndebourne’s own label in 2008. This 1962 recording features a vintage cast with Heinz Blankenburg in the title role, Mirella Freni as Susanna, who had made her international breakthrough at Glyndebourne in the summer of 1961.