The Magic Flute outside Vienna (21 September 1792) in Lemberg, then in Prague. It then made "triumphal progress through Germany's opera houses great and small", and with the early 19th century spread to essentially all the countries of Europe—and eventually, everywhere in the world—where opera is cultivated. As Branscombe documents, the earlier performances were often of highly altered, sometimes even mutilated, versions of the opera (see "Ludwig Wenzel Lachnith"). Productions of the past century have tended to be more faithful to Mozart's music, though faithful rendering of Mozart and Schikaneder's original (quite explicit) stage directions and dramatic vision continues to be rare; with
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