John Shirley-Quirk, a Bass-Baritone and Specialist in Britten, Is Dead at 82

Mr. Shirley-Quirk was a British chemistry teacher who almost by accident became a world-renowned bass-baritone and made 30 appearances at the Met between 1974 and 1991. John Stanton Shirley-Quirk CBE (28 August 1931 – 7 April 2014) was an English bass-baritone. He was a member of the English Opera Group from 1964–76, and was prominent in performing and recording the operatic and vocal works of Benjamin Britten. Wikipedia