The Magic Flute ideals of Sarastro's community and seeks to join it. Separately, then together, Tamino and Pamina undergo severe trials of initiation, which end in triumph, with the Queen and her cohorts vanquished. The earthy Papageno, who accompanies Tamino on his quest, fails the trials completely but is rewarded anyway with the hand of his ideal female companion Papagena. The opera was the culmination of a period of increasing involvement by Mozart with Schikaneder's theatrical troupe, which since 1789 had been the resident company at the Theater auf der Wieden. Mozart was a close friend of one of the singer-composers of the
The Magic Flute (musical) in 2007 at the Baxter Theatre in Cape Town, South Africa, before beginning a tour to the United Kingdom. The production opened at the Young Vic Theatre in London over the festive season, 2007. The cast performed "The Magic Flute" and an adaptation of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" on alternate days for a nine-week run. The production won the Whatsonstage Theatregoers' Choice Award for Best Off-West End Production. Its success led to a transfer to the Duke of York's Theatre for a further run until 19 April, 2008. The musical won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Musical Revival