Sir Mark Elder, Braham Murray, Robert Robson, and Kenny Wax reflect on the genesis of this unique collaboration, and of ambitions achieved.

Braham Murray, The Royal Exchange Theatre

The Royal Exchange has always wanted to collaborate with The Hallé on a grand scale and it doesn’t come much grander than this. It was Mark’s idea. I didn’t know Wonderful Town. I fell in love with it. The music is marvellously inventive, the script is brilliantly funny, the whole a zany celebration of New York. To have The Hallé Orchestra in its entirety is the stuff that dreams are made of and to work with Mark, one of the worlds greatest conductors, is ridiculously exciting.