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 (ballet) the Imperial Ballet, where it was first presented on at the Imperial Mariinsky Theatre with Anna Johansson in the role of Lise and Pavel Gerdt in the role of Luc. The ballet served as a useful vehicle for the ballerinas of the Tsarist stage including Anna Pavlova, who would later include the work in the repertory of her own touring company. Drigo's score was later published in piano reduction and orchestral partition by the music publisher Zimmerman in 1912. The score was recorded in 1990 by the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, conducted by Richard Bonynge and