THE Royal Opera House (ROH) agreed yesterday to tone down a five-minute gang rape scene after public outcry over extreme brutality and female performers’ welfare.

When Guillaume Tell, by Gioachino Rossini, was performed earlier this month, audiences walked out en masse and booed in what campaign group Stand Up For Women (SUFW) called the first such backlash in operatic history.

But SUFW applauded the ROH for listening to audiences’ concerns, as the opera will be broadcast live to cinemas.

The campaign was further propelled by the availability of tickets for children for the matinee show.

“Objecting to this does not come from ‘prudery’ or an unwillingness to allow an art form to evolve,” said SUFW director Dr Sasha Rakoff.

“But because it is potentially exploitative of the female performers — frequently it is dancers who are told to strip and, being part of a particularly insecure profession, may feel they have no choice but to do so.”