Alfred the Gorilla
Alfred died on 10 March 1948. The press at the time speculated that ‘his pet hate got him in the end’, linking Alfred's dislike of aeroplanes with the passage of one over the zoo shortly before his death. The actual cause of his demise was tuberculosis which he contracted a year before and despite his keepers best efforts, he had been unable to recover. His death was mourned by many of the regular visitors to the zoo, some of whom were even inspired to compose poems in his honour.
Alfred (Dvořák)
Alfred is a heroic opera in three acts by the Czech composer Antonín Dvořák. It was Dvořák's first opera and the only one he composed to a German text. The libretto, by Carl Theodor Körner, was set by Friedrich von Flotow (as "Alfred der Große"), based on the story of the English king Alfred the Great. Composed in 1870, "Alfred" was not performed during Dvořák's lifetime. The opera premiered (in Czech translation) at the City Theatre, Olomouc on 10 December 1938.