After college Darren played the roles of Sandor Barinkay in The Gypsy Baron, the Cowardly Lion in The Wizard of Oz and Gaylord Ravenal in Showboat before moving to London to continue his voice studies privately as a tenor.  He was soon offered a full time chorus position with Carl Rosa Opera Company with whom he travelled throughout the UK and Ireland, North America, Australia and New Zealand performing and understudying lead roles in The Mikado, Pirates Of Penzance, HMS Pinafore, Iolanthe, Yeomen Of The Guard, The Gondoliers and Die Fledermaus.

Darren also performed with Opera Holland Park in Eugene Onegin, Andrea Chenier, Rigoletto, Manon Lescaut, Fedora, Queen of Spades, Nabucco with Dorset Opera and toured with Mid Wales Opera in The Bartered Bride.  He also sang in a number of recitals of Schubert and Schumann songs with an English translation by Mr Jeffrey Benton, as well as the tenor solos in The Messiah and Elijah.   He has performed the lead role in a concert version of Edward German's Tom Jones and played The God Progress in A Fiddle Fable at the Ludlow Festival.  He was also the Player Boy in Death In Venice at the Aldeburgh Festival and the Bregenz Festival (Austria), where he also performed in Tosca and the football opera Playing Away.