On October 29, 1992, the audience at London's Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, was in a festive mood. It was The Royal Ballet's long-awaited revival of Sir Kenneth MacMillan's 1978 full-evening ballet, Mayerling, with Irek Mukhamedov making his debut in the leading role of Austria's dissolute Crown Prince Rudolf. But during the final curtain calls it was announced from the stage that, unbeknownst to the cast, MacMillan had died from a heart attack during the ballet's second ...