The photo had been changed in a number of ways

Juan Pablo Di Pace, 28, was cast in the crowd scenes of Verdi's mid-19th Century opera Rigoletto in 2001.

His naked image was used on posters to advertise later Rigoletto productions - even though he was not in them.

The Royal Opera House said it will stop using the image after the actor "expressed his discontent".

Argentinian-born Mr Di Pace, now a TV and film actor, complained the image has been distorted, and that his penis had been airbrushed out.

The Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, central London, said it had manipulated the original photograph in a number of ways, including at one time adding a cape to cover the part of his anatomy at the centre of the dispute.

Mr Di Pace appeared on the Catherine Tate show

When Rigoletto is next performed in 2009, the actor will not feature in any image publicising the production, it said.

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.

"Juan Pablo has been in contact with us through one of his representatives and expressed his discontent and we have agreed that we will no longer be using this particular image."

A spokesman for the actor said he was in Argentina and could not be contacted.

Mr Di Pace has appeared in the Catherine Tate show, in the BBC show Aftersun and features in this year's Hollywood adaptation of Mamma Mia!