Jonathan began his musical training as a chorister in the choir of Southwark Cathedral. As a treble, he performed as soloist with orchestras at the Barbican, Queen Elizabeth, and Royal Albert Halls, and took the roles of First Boy in Mozart’s The Magic Flute for the ENO and Miles in Britten’s The Turn of the Screw ('Darbourne’s Miles stands in the line of greats'– The Independent). After reading Music and singing as a choral scholar in the choir of Magdalen College, Oxford, he went on to further vocal study at the Schola Cantorum, Basel and the Barock Vokal programme in Mainz.
Jonathan is co-founder and artistic director of Vache Baroque ('one of the UK's hottest groups' - Opera Today), for which he has led five fully-staged operas and numerous multi-artform programmes from the harpsichord. Recent highlights include a sell-out run of Charpentier's Orphée at the Buxton International Festival, a circus-themed production of Campra's Le Carnaval de Venise (✭✭✭✭✭ - Opera Now), and a programme inspired by Oscar Wilde's De Profundis letter ('an exceptional evening' - The Observer). 2026 will see a return to BIF for a new staging of Francesca Caccini's La liberazione di Ruggiero, a semi-opera version of Shakespeare's The Tempest in collaboration with theatre group Out of Chaos, and various concert and recital programmes in London, Buxton, IF Opera Festival, and the Toradze International Music Festival in Tbilisi, Georgia.
Alongside his own projects, Jonathan has been music director for HGO's production of Rossini's La Cenerentola (2026 OFFIE winner - Sound & Music), assisted for the Nederlandse Bachvereniging, and been assistant conductor and continuo player for The Grange Festival's production of Handel's Tamerlano. An experienced choral conductor, he is chorus master for the NSO and has led projects ranging from the Voces8 Scholars to choir scenes in a number of Netflix productions, including The Crown and Bridgerton.
As a countertenor, Jonathan has worked with many leading early-music specialist ensembles across Europe, including the Dunedin Consort, Concerto Copenhagen, I Barocchisti, Freiburger Barockorchester, and the Marian Consort. Away from early music, he sang in the world premiere of Stockhausen’s opera Mittwoch aus Licht with Ex Cathedra (dir. Graham Vick), and his performance as The Waiter in Steven Oliver's The Waiter's Revenge was reviewed by The Independent on Sunday as 'outstanding', with Opera Now writing 'Darbourne's lugubrious performance stood out'.
Recent solo highlights include a programme of Stradella and Purcell for the Lerici Music Festival (dir. Andrea De Carlo); Handel, Bach, and Vivaldi arias with I Barocchisti (dir. Diego Fasolis) in Lugano; Haydn's Paukenmesse at the Al Bustan Festival, Beirut (cond. Gianluca Marciano); and Bach's St John Passion with the Academy of Ancient Music (cond. Will Vann) at Cadogan Hall. He studies with Antonio Lemmo in Molise, Italy.
In demand as an arranger, Jonathan’s commissions have been broadcast live on BBC Radio 3, and have been performed at London venues including the Cadogan Hall and Smith Square Hall, as well as internationally.