Actor complains over penis manipulation

An actor has complained to the Royal Opera House after it airbrushed his penis out of a poster.

A full-frontal shot of Juan Pablo Di Pace had been used to promote several operas since he appeared in crowd scenes of Verdi's Rigoletto in 2001.

The Royal Opera House said it would pull the image after the Argentinian-born actor said it was distorted.

A source close to Di Pace told The Independent: "It's disgraceful. It's hugely embarrassing for a 28-year-old actor for them to plaster his naked body across billboards and buses.... They airbrushed his penis entirely to shrink it. They made it look like he barely had one at all."

The Covent Garden venue admitted that the photograph had been manipulated in various ways and agreed that it would not be used to promote future versions of Rigoletto.

Spokesman Christopher Millard said: "The poster was a generic image of the production. When we begin publicising a show we don't always have pictures of the lead singer so it is common for us to use a photograph we have in stock."

Di Pace has appeared on TV in the Catherine Tate Show and Aftersun since performing in the opera. He also stars in the upcoming big-screen version of the musical Mamma Mia!